Google's Self Driving Car is the Worst Driver Ever

[walkitout]

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/530276/hidden-obstacles-for-googles-self-driving-cars/

Has never driven in snow OR heavy rain
Cannot avoid pot holes
Would ignore a police officer waving for it to stop
Would fail to recognize a new stop light
Cannot drive in a large, open parking lot or a multi-level parking garage
Cannot read a traffic light if the sun is directly behind it
Objects on the road are avoided regardless of what they are (so a plastic bag would be treated like a rock)

Google's self driving car is not really driving on the road. It is driving on a map.

"intricate preparations have been made beforehand, with the car’s exact route, including driveways, extensively mapped. Data from multiple passes by a special sensor vehicle must later be pored over, meter by meter, by both computers and humans. It’s vastly more effort than what’s needed for Google Maps."

Yeah, that whole google taxi thing is probably more than a few years off.

Comments

[rolandgo.livejournal.com]

I am unclear on the details, but there is an expansion in the list of safety things required on new cars including some sort of collision avoidance (to go along with ABS brakes, tire pressure sensors, backup cameras, and dynamic stability control). Or at least that's what I think I read when I was reading what the + meant on an IIHS rating. Once you have a sensor to detect lane departure and/or obstacles in the road and start braking, doing active cruise control is almost free.

[rolandgo.livejournal.com]

Oops. wrong post. I was replying to the previous one, but wanted a keyboard & aimed poorly.

Not a problem. While I'm here, however . . .

[walkitout]

http://www.templetons.com/brad/robocars/cameras-lasers.html

Nice discussion of the camera vs. LIDAR tradeoff.

I think I would say that once you are doing active cruise control, detect lane departure is almost free to add, rather than the reverse. Mostly because that's how it got implemented.

Re: Not a problem. While I'm here, however . . .

[walkitout]

Wikipedia entry with lane keeping system timeline:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_departure_warning_system

Wonder how irritating that would be driving on route 2 for the last several months . . . Fortunately, the Kia lets you turn it off.