Comment by proee
1 day ago
One interesting idea for this technology is to prevent accidents. Imagine you are about to get hit head-on by a drunk driver. If only you had a set of thrusters to lift your car at the last second. So basically use this a crash collision avoidance "before" your airbag has to go off.
I too solve my problems by getting catapulted multiple feet in the air without a clear landing plan
> Imagine you are about to get hit head-on by a drunk driver
The fact that Waymos don't get hit head-on by drunk drivers suggests this is a situational awareness versus last-minute dodge problem.
Can you think of some alternative explanations? I can.
It's a numbers game. As much time as Waymo had been on the road, it has not been long enough to hit a "drunk driver running red light" situation. It'll happen eventually.
If Waymo hasn't done enough miles for this to happen then it is a statistically insignificant event. They're on pace to do 20 million trips this year alone.