5 ms·
LIDAR is valuable as a safety feature, i.e. it can (unlike radars or cameras) reliably see (at least in clear weather) if there's anything in the car's path war
by bluepanda928752 5y ago
LIDAR is valuable as a safety feature, i.e. it can (unlike radars or cameras) reliably see (at least in clear weather) if there's anything in the car's path warranting evasion/braking maneuvers. In particular it's important that the LIDAR is dumb, i.e. its failure mores are predictable
- liuliu 5y agoLIDAR operates by timing how a photon reflects from a surface, it doesn't guarantee see everything. As you stated already, it cannot see in snow or rain. I am actually on sensor-fusion side, but I don't think we should jump to the conclusion LIDAR is the best 3D mapping method. For one example, a truck has a breaking distance of 600ft, either Velodyne or OS1 LIDAR has range less than that.
- bluepanda928752 5y agoI agree about LIDARs not being the best general 3D mapping method, my point was mostly about using it as a dumb physics-based safety system. For autonomous trucks, limited LIDAR range could be mitigated by reducing speed accordingly and/or employing more powerful (or SWIR) LIDARs since trucks are more expensive and there could be a bigger budget for sensors