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Waymos crash less than human drivers

(www.understandingai.org)
345 points rbanffy | 4 comments | 26 Mar 25 20:57 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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labrador ◴[26 Mar 25 21:36 UTC] No.43487628[source]▶
I was initially skeptical about self-driving cars but I've been won over by Waymo's careful and thoughtful approach using visual cues, lidar, safety drivers and geo-fencing. That said I will never trust my life to a Tesla robotaxi that uses visual cues only and will drive into a wall painted to look like the road ahead like Wile E. Coyote. Beep beep.

Man Tests If Tesla Autopilot Will Crash Into Wall Painted to Look Like Road https://futurism.com/tesla-wall-autopilot

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Ferret7446 ◴[27 Mar 25 06:51 UTC] No.43491005[source]▶
A wall painted to look like a road would likely cause human accidents and the painter would be very much criminally liable for them.

That said, I do think using only visual cues is a stupid self-imposed restriction. We shouldn't be making self-driving cars like humans, because humans suck horse testicles at driving.

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1. audunw ◴[27 Mar 25 09:13 UTC] No.43491665[source]▶
The painted wall was just a gimmick to make the video entertaining. What’s more concerning is the performance in fog, rain and other visually challenging conditions.
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2. x187463 ◴[27 Mar 25 10:23 UTC] No.43492034[source]▶
I think the correct response for FSD would have been to stop in the situations presented in the video. That wasn't anything like normal fog, rain, or light obstruction. The situations they created were so extreme you simply couldn't operate a vehicle safely. That being said, the effectiveness and precision of lidar should be a legal requirement for autonomous vehicles.
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3. whamlastxmas ◴[27 Mar 25 11:31 UTC] No.43492496[source]▶
Reviews of the wall gimmick video also make it clear that the LiDAR car stopped because it detected the water, not the wall. And there are tons of videos of LiDAR cars coming to a complete stop in traffic because of steam from a manhole or light water spraying just off the side of the road. Also don’t get me started on the manufacturer of the lidar car being mark’s close friend, and had previously given mark millions of dollars for another project he did
4. teeray ◴[27 Mar 25 13:17 UTC] No.43493306[source]▶
> That wasn't anything like normal fog, rain, or light obstruction

It does happen on occasion. Seasonally, sublimating snow banks can create fog that intense for hours if conditions are right. Also heavy smoke can create similar conditions.