Comment by DebtDeflation
3 years ago
Object detection is an issue, but it doesn't only apply to "moving" objects. The current state of the art is having trouble differentiating between a "solid" stationary object like a tire or chunk of metal that must be navigated around, and something like an empty plastic bag that can be safely ignored. Regarding infrastructure, AVs also seem to have a lot of trouble with faded lane lines on roads.
If you're relying only on cameras, then yes, that's an issue. Level 4 vehicles can locate themselves without the need for lines on the road. Everything has been carefully mapped out ahead of time.
> Everything has been carefully mapped out ahead of time
This doesn’t scale. This is also how Zoox, Tesla, and Cruise do their demo videos to scam more money out of investors: they collect ultra-HD maps in a very narrow area or a very specific route. Then they drive the route/area about a thousand times, recording each drive. Then they upload the drive with the fewest mistakes to YouTube. Just like me taking a thousand half-court shots with a basketball, hitting one, and then claiming I can do it every try. There, I just gave you the formula to raise $100mm from FOMOing VCs.
There’s also no such thing as a Level 4 Autonomous vehicle. It doesn’t exist.
Many of the original Google self-driving car project members came over directly from Google Street view, which has since scaled all over the world. Autonomous vehicles have big scaling issues, but it's not the maps holding them back.
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Telsa doesn't have such ultra-HD maps at all. They build some maps for some simulations and training but the car does not locate itself in such maps when driving.
> Then they drive the route/area about a thousand times, recording each drive. Then they upload the drive with the fewest mistakes to YouTube
This is certainty not what Tesla does, from Tesla vehicles you will find literally 1000s of videos uploaded by Testers on every possible routes.
And Tesla has also never relied on VC funding for any of its self-driving tech.
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>Everything has been carefully mapped out ahead of time.
That sounds sustainable and scalable to earth-size, for sure.
Earth size? When was the last time you drove in Madagascar? Most driven miles are the same commute in the same city 10 times a week.
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Well, it's been mostly done once with Google maps and street view. Presumably once it was done once and in use cities would have a vested interest in keeping it updated themselves. Judging by how many large potholes stick around for years near me I wouldn't keep my hopes up about it being well maintained though
This pretty much. You've got to be able to rapidly identify everything you see and predict what it's reasonably likely to do, which sounds like an AGI-scale problem.