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Toyota Research Institute head says full autonomous driving is “not even close”

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Re: Toyota Research Institute head says full autonomous driving is “not even close”

#22

I'm sure he's right, but then why is everyone joining the race now? Wouldn't it be way less expensive to wait until at least some of the problems are solved? Also, it sure seems like level 5 autonomous driving is just a few steps short of general AI, which is still lightyears away.

Not sure how waiting would help. The solution is primarily software, and I'm not sure how one company can learn from its competitors' private code. The only way to get there is to start along that long road.

Code and data. The fuel for self-driving tech is data.

Re: Toyota Research Institute head says full autonomous driving is “not even close”

#23

I'm sure he's right, but then why is everyone joining the race now? Wouldn't it be way less expensive to wait until at least some of the problems are solved? Also, it sure seems like level 5 autonomous driving is just a few steps short of general AI, which is still lightyears away.

because the industry now at least sees the path ahead to full autonomy. if we didn't think it was possible or feasible before, now we see that we CAN in fact achieve this, even if it's a long road in front of us.

Re: Toyota Research Institute head says full autonomous driving is “not even close”

#25

One thing I would love someone to explain is how can people assume cars are going to be automated soon when both planes and trains haven't been automated for various reasons. They are different issues I have gathered but essentially shouldn't trains be dead simple but to this day at least the trains(not metras though) often have someone to stop the train in case of emergencies. Planes are more complex but have lower…

30,000 people in the USA alone are killed each year because of human driving error. Humans are not getting any better at driving. Car safety mechanisms have reduced road death rates significantly in the last 50 years, but still - 30,000 deaths/year in the USA alone due to human driver error.

Cars will be automated because cars have to be automated.

Re: Toyota Research Institute head says full autonomous driving is “not even close”

#26

One thing I would love someone to explain is how can people assume cars are going to be automated soon when both planes and trains haven't been automated for various reasons. They are different issues I have gathered but essentially shouldn't trains be dead simple but to this day at least the trains(not metras though) often have someone to stop the train in case of emergencies. Planes are more complex but have lower…

> One thing I would love someone to explain is how can people assume cars are going to be automated soon when both planes and trains haven't been automated for various reasons.

Planes are mostly automated, except for liftoff and landing. They can probably automate those too ... but there's no point. You'll still need a pilot. Would you get into a plane flown entirely by computer with no pilot available to take over?

Trains are entirely automated. At least, the ones where there isn't a union enforcing some form of employment. I've been on a number of trains in airports that don't have any kind of operator.

Re: Toyota Research Institute head says full autonomous driving is “not even close”

#28

What's the opposite of FUD? That's what's driving the hype.

If FUD = fear, uncertainty, and doubt, then the opposite would be Joy, Certainty, and Credulousness. (JCC doesn't roll off of the tongue though)

Sounds about right. The same stuff market bubbles are made of!

Re: Toyota Research Institute head says full autonomous driving is “not even close”

#29

One thing I would love someone to explain is how can people assume cars are going to be automated soon when both planes and trains haven't been automated for various reasons. They are different issues I have gathered but essentially shouldn't trains be dead simple but to this day at least the trains(not metras though) often have someone to stop the train in case of emergencies. Planes are more complex but have lower…

The price of a plane/train is astronomical compared to what you have to pay for a pilot. I mean, you could literally buy a pilot for a millenia for the price of a jetliner (100M$ for jetliner / 100k$/year for pilot). There just isn't a very large economical incentive to automate that job out.
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