3 ms·

Sorry if this is obvious, but are there actually any systems that "choose one over the other"? My impression's always been it was either vision + LIDAR, or visi

by gbnwl 9mo ago

Sorry if this is obvious, but are there actually any systems that "choose one over the other"? My impression's always been it was either vision + LIDAR, or vision alone. Are there any examples of LIDAR alone?

ares623 9mo ago
Roombas
- pests 9mo ago
  I don't think they would be as well accepted into peoples homes if they had a mobile camera on it. Didn't they already leak peoples home mappings?
- sampo 9mo ago
  Roomba (specifically the brand of the American company iRobot) only added lidar in 2025 [1]. Earliest Roombas navigated by touch (bumping into walls), and then by cameras. But if you use "roomba" as a generic term for robot vacuum then yes, Chinese Ecovacs and Xiaomi introduced lidar-based robot vacuums in 2015 [2]. [1] https://www.theverge.com/news/627751/irobot-launches-eight-new-roombas-with-lidar-room-mapping https://www.theverge.com/news/627751/irobot-launches-eight-n... [2] https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=4542 https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=4542
  - rkomorn 9mo ago
    > Earliest Roombas navigated by touch (bumping into walls) My ex got a Roomba in the early 2010s and it gave me an irrational but everlasting disdain for the company. They kept mentioning their "proprietary algorithm" like it was some amazing futuristic thing but watching that thing just bump into something and turn, bump into something else and turn, bump into something again and turn again, etc ... it made me hate that thing. Now when my dog can't find her ball and starts senselessly roaming in all the wrong directions in a panic, I call it Roomba mode.
  - vardump 9mo ago
    Neato XV-11 introduced lidar in 2010. Sadly they're no more.
  - blitzar 9mo ago
    > Earliest Roombas navigated by touch (bumping into walls) My neighbour used to park like that; "thats what the bumpers are for - bumping"
cameronh90 9mo ago
Not that I'm aware of, but I was referring to the claim in the parent post that if you had to choose it would be insane to choose vision over LIDAR.
Nasrudith 9mo ago
Don't ultimately even the ones which are vision + LIDAR ultimately have to choose priority in terms of one or the other for "What do you do if LIDAR says it is blocked and sight says it is clear' or visa-versa?" Trying to handle edge-cases where say LIDAR thinks that sprinker mist is a solid object and to swerve to avoid it and say vision which thinks that an optical illusion is a real path and not a brick wall.
comfysocks 9mo ago
Since the current traffic infrastructure was built for human drivers with vision, you’ll probably need some form of vision to navigate today’s roads. The only way I could picture lidar only working would be on a road system specially made for machine driving.

by gbnwl 9mo ago

ares623 9mo ago

Roombas

pests 9mo ago
I don't think they would be as well accepted into peoples homes if they had a mobile camera on it. Didn't they already leak peoples home mappings?
sampo 9mo ago
Roomba (specifically the brand of the American company iRobot) only added lidar in 2025 [1]. Earliest Roombas navigated by touch (bumping into walls), and then by cameras. But if you use "roomba" as a generic term for robot vacuum then yes, Chinese Ecovacs and Xiaomi introduced lidar-based robot vacuums in 2015 [2]. [1] https://www.theverge.com/news/627751/irobot-launches-eight-new-roombas-with-lidar-room-mapping https://www.theverge.com/news/627751/irobot-launches-eight-n... [2] https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=4542 https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=4542
- rkomorn 9mo ago
  > Earliest Roombas navigated by touch (bumping into walls) My ex got a Roomba in the early 2010s and it gave me an irrational but everlasting disdain for the company. They kept mentioning their "proprietary algorithm" like it was some amazing futuristic thing but watching that thing just bump into something and turn, bump into something else and turn, bump into something again and turn again, etc ... it made me hate that thing. Now when my dog can't find her ball and starts senselessly roaming in all the wrong directions in a panic, I call it Roomba mode.
- vardump 9mo ago
  Neato XV-11 introduced lidar in 2010. Sadly they're no more.
- blitzar 9mo ago
  > Earliest Roombas navigated by touch (bumping into walls) My neighbour used to park like that; "thats what the bumpers are for - bumping"

cameronh90 9mo ago

Not that I'm aware of, but I was referring to the claim in the parent post that if you had to choose it would be insane to choose vision over LIDAR.

Nasrudith 9mo ago

Don't ultimately even the ones which are vision + LIDAR ultimately have to choose priority in terms of one or the other for "What do you do if LIDAR says it is blocked and sight says it is clear' or visa-versa?" Trying to handle edge-cases where say LIDAR thinks that sprinker mist is a solid object and to swerve to avoid it and say vision which thinks that an optical illusion is a real path and not a brick wall.

comfysocks 9mo ago

Since the current traffic infrastructure was built for human drivers with vision, you’ll probably need some form of vision to navigate today’s roads. The only way I could picture lidar only working would be on a road system specially made for machine driving.