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While I'm hugely skeptical of the current state of self-driving cars, you could probably get human drivers to make the same mistake if you were to repaint the l

While I'm hugely skeptical of the current state of self-driving cars, you could probably get human drivers to make the same mistake if you were to repaint the lines. However, humans will also notice the oncoming cars (if there are any) and avoid getting in a head-on collision. The thing missing from this test is that critical practical piece: if there was an oncoming car, will the Tesla do something to avoid the collision? I would assume that not getting in a head-on crash is higher priority than staying in the lane markings. Without oncoming traffic, all this is testing is what the Tesla considers valid line markings. I'm sure there's room for improvement here (such as checking where the other lane is, raising the requirement for how well-defined the lines have to be, etc), but those are also going to involve trade-offs where there are legitimate situations that will stop working. I think you could just as easily title this video "Tesla auto-pilot follows road markings even if they're really bad". Edit: The best shot I could get from the video [1] makes me even more upset at this test: these look like the temporary markings often used during construction, just before they come and paint the normal lines using the big line-painting truck. There's not even regular lane lines after this. I wouldn't even be surprised if this is something Tesla specifically trained the software to handle. [1] https://i.imgur.com/aLbhnzQ.jpg https://i.imgur.com/aLbhnzQ.jpg

vkou 8y ago
> The thing missing from this test is that critical practical piece: if there was an oncoming car, will the Tesla do something to avoid the collision? I would assume that not getting in a head-on crash is higher priority than staying in the lane markings. Considering that a Tesla is happy to ram you into the back of a stopped vehicle, at highway speeds, I wouldn't have that hope. Autopilot does two things - follows the vehicle in front of you, and stays between the lane lines.
- fhayde 8y ago
  It does more than that. You don't even have to look to Tesla to find cruise control tech that is capable of adjusting speed based on traffic conditions. e.g., Nissan uses tech that can adjust the speed of your vehicle relative to the distance between you and the car in front of you. You can even choose between three different follow distances for the car in front of you. It can go from 75mph to a full stop without intervention, and then back up to 75mph. I get that there's skepticism related to self-driving vehicles, but let's be genuine here and recognize that this technology is young and is still in a state of development, and not misrepresent what it can and cannot do.
- EngineerBetter 8y ago
  This isn't strictly true - Teslas have the ability to perform emergency stops if they detect something in front of them. I don't believe that they're likely to pick up something driving straight at them, as it's not something the neural net has been trained for. My Model X often alerts me to parked cars, thinking I might drive into them :P
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vkou 8y ago

> The thing missing from this test is that critical practical piece: if there was an oncoming car, will the Tesla do something to avoid the collision? I would assume that not getting in a head-on crash is higher priority than staying in the lane markings. Considering that a Tesla is happy to ram you into the back of a stopped vehicle, at highway speeds, I wouldn't have that hope. Autopilot does two things - follows the vehicle in front of you, and stays between the lane lines.

fhayde 8y ago
It does more than that. You don't even have to look to Tesla to find cruise control tech that is capable of adjusting speed based on traffic conditions. e.g., Nissan uses tech that can adjust the speed of your vehicle relative to the distance between you and the car in front of you. You can even choose between three different follow distances for the car in front of you. It can go from 75mph to a full stop without intervention, and then back up to 75mph. I get that there's skepticism related to self-driving vehicles, but let's be genuine here and recognize that this technology is young and is still in a state of development, and not misrepresent what it can and cannot do.
EngineerBetter 8y ago
This isn't strictly true - Teslas have the ability to perform emergency stops if they detect something in front of them. I don't believe that they're likely to pick up something driving straight at them, as it's not something the neural net has been trained for. My Model X often alerts me to parked cars, thinking I might drive into them :P
- deleted 8y ago
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