3 ms·

The point is, if you say Lidar is essential, then how do you deal with fog, etc. Happy to be proven wrong, but my understanding is that the tech simply can't ov

The point is, if you say Lidar is essential, then how do you deal with fog, etc. Happy to be proven wrong, but my understanding is that the tech simply can't overcome these problems. So you either say 'driver takes over' in these cases, or you create software that uses video to figure out where stuff is. Since you need cams to read signs, you'll have that hardware and some software anyway. So if you have this software that can use video to figure out where things are, why do you need Lidar? The car needs to work safely without the Lidar. So including that in the sensor fusion should not be required. You can point out cases where software fails, but that does not disprove the fundamental reason for not using Lidar. It perhaps means that the software isn't good enough yet, but that does not seem fundamental for cases where humans wouldn't also fail.

perfmode 3y ago
nothing is essential. everything is contributory.
- williamcotton 3y ago
  And many times less is more!
  - ChuckNorris89 3y ago
    This argument works in students building self driving robots for competitions on a budget, not in 2 tonne cars transporting your family.
    - williamcotton 3y ago
      I am already thinking about this in terms of safety.
ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
Lidar is capable of viewing through fog, whereas ordinary cameras won't be able to. https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Lidar_System_Delivers_Vision_Through_Clouds_and/a66169 https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Lidar_System_Delivers_Vis...
- juliushuijnk 3y ago
  > For bright reflective objects like traffic cones or road signs, the system is able to provide information in under a minute. A minute.. Even if they could bring that down to 1ms, the main point still stands that Lidar can't read signs. And you'll need the tech in the car to read that stop-sign at high speed. Also the position of the stop-sign in relation to the streets is super important, so the software of positioning is also 100% required. So the main point still stands, if you're going to need that tech, why do you need the Lidar, since you'll need to stop the car the moment the cams fail to work. As a side note: I also I wonder if it would still work if every car at a crossing would have this tech (in a fog), how would the cars know that the laser light was coming from their car, and not form any of the other cars? Would have to morse-code an ID in there or something perhaps. Second side note: It's a tech discussion, it sometimes seems people bring personal views about Elon Musk and Tesla into these discussions. I think this clouds the judgement.

perfmode 3y ago

nothing is essential. everything is contributory.

williamcotton 3y ago
And many times less is more!
- ChuckNorris89 3y ago
  This argument works in students building self driving robots for competitions on a budget, not in 2 tonne cars transporting your family.
  - williamcotton 3y ago
    I am already thinking about this in terms of safety.

ndsipa_pomu 3y ago

Lidar is capable of viewing through fog, whereas ordinary cameras won't be able to. https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Lidar_System_Delivers_Vision_Through_Clouds_and/a66169 https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Lidar_System_Delivers_Vis...

juliushuijnk 3y ago
> For bright reflective objects like traffic cones or road signs, the system is able to provide information in under a minute. A minute.. Even if they could bring that down to 1ms, the main point still stands that Lidar can't read signs. And you'll need the tech in the car to read that stop-sign at high speed. Also the position of the stop-sign in relation to the streets is super important, so the software of positioning is also 100% required. So the main point still stands, if you're going to need that tech, why do you need the Lidar, since you'll need to stop the car the moment the cams fail to work. As a side note: I also I wonder if it would still work if every car at a crossing would have this tech (in a fog), how would the cars know that the laser light was coming from their car, and not form any of the other cars? Would have to morse-code an ID in there or something perhaps. Second side note: It's a tech discussion, it sometimes seems people bring personal views about Elon Musk and Tesla into these discussions. I think this clouds the judgement.