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Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

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Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#101
post #93
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it appears you're correct... but it is a much easier problem and one that i argue has massive bang for the buck _today_. robotaxis will probably happen at scale some day. but for now, "nap through bad traffic mode" would be pretty excellent both in terms of safety and utility.

Phantom traffic jams are so common, where things aren’t moving as fast as they should because people keep slamming on their brakes and scaring the people behind them (who in turn do the same). Even if the original reason was good I imagine it makes a lot of real life traffic jams worse. But if the cars are all driving themselves, wouldn’t they avoid that? I wonder if traffic jams would get smaller just from the lack…

yeah, i've daydreamed about that. if enough cars opt in you could implement cooperative flow control algorithms.

i think this has already been shown to help with advisory lane specific speed limits that are common in some parts of europe and the us. (the lit adaptive per lane speed limit signs that appear every mile or two.)

even a few vehicles that drive intelligently in traffic could potentially have huge effects.

and i'll say it again: why buy a fun vehicle like a tesla or a benz if you're just going to have the computer drive it in a way that the manufacturer's legal team is comfortable with?

unless, of course, you're stuck in traffic. then let the lawyers drive and take a nap.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#102
post #67

What I don't get: if deep learning can recognize a crosswalk with 99.99% accuracy, that's very impressive. Yet it is not enough.

I can imagine this being at least two orders of magnitude higher than most human drivers (one in ten thousand misses versus one in one hundred). How many orders of magnitude better does it need to be before it's good enough?

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#103
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But haven't we all seen Fight Club? It isn't a question a confidence, it is a question of financial math. This decision tells us nothing about the safety of the Mercedes system compared to its competitors. All it tells us is that adding these limitations to ensure the system is only used in the safest possible scenarios makes taking over liability more reasonable. That isn't surprising. Their competitors' systems are…

> This decision tells us nothing about the safety of the Mercedes system compared to its competitors Mercedes is just taking notice that grandstanding and PR worked for Tesla, so they are doing the same thing. Everybody who is serious about this knows that unless you get Level 5 it's all just grandstanding. Level 5 won't come from unleashing Level 3 into the world and throwing deers , cyclists and pedestrians at it (…

I don't know how you came to this conclusion.

Level 4 is a serious goal that provides very useful benefits.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#105
> Drive Pilot can only be engaged on a certain highways, and the car must not exceed 40 miles per hour.

> The system will only operate during the daytime, in reasonably clear weather, and without overhead obstructions. Inclement weather, construction zones, tunnels, and emergency vehicles will all trigger a handover warning [1].

There's a very limited subset of areas that one would be able to use this.

[1] https://cleantechnica.com/2022/03/23/mercedes-will-be-legall...

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#106

Meanwhile in Jerusalem https://youtu.be/pDyMzz8HMIc

It's nice to see a self driving car in European conditions. All the Tesla FSD videos feel like they lack some complexity and depth. I do wonder how Tesla would perform in these conditions.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#107

Meanwhile in Jerusalem https://youtu.be/pDyMzz8HMIc

The car pulls out and immediately fails to yield to two pedestrians at a crosswalk at 0:54. One of the pedestrians is in the crosswalk.

It also has a traffic light so I guess this isn't a crosswalk where the car has to yield. The pedestrian isn't really in the crosswalk, there is a yellow dashed line.

Very confusing but I guess: Different countries, different rules.

1:44 is also confusing, no signs at all so the car should yield to the car coming from the right.

3:35 looks dangerous, pulling left into the scooter.

10:00 he says that it is very challenging to drive in Jerusalem and that you can drive everywhere if you can do it there. I haven't seen anything challenging up to this point in the video, all roads are clearly marked, no potholes, almost no traffic, lots of signs. This looks very easy to me.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#108
post #2

If tesla still has issues with self-driving cars and they are like a decade if not more ahead of everyone else. I dont believe this PR stunt.

Tesla owner here, have friends that work at Cruise. Tesla is waaayy behind cruise and waymo on the self driving front. Those other companies actually have fully driverless cars driving around San Francisco. Tesla is not even close. I think GM will have the best self driving system if they manage to commercialize the tech cruise built.

"If", as the Spartans famously said to Big Alex's dad.

Ah, well, let's hope GM manages to comercialize the stuff.

(The Spartans were undefeated, but became irrelevant and dwindled, just a past legend for others to wave around as political advertising. Sic transit ...)

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#109
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The car pulls out and immediately fails to yield to two pedestrians at a crosswalk at 0:54. One of the pedestrians is in the crosswalk.

The car did have the right of way though, as the crosswalk had a red light on. As to why one of the pedestrians decided to stand in middle of the road during a red light, I have no idea.

That might be the way it works in Israel, but it's not a safe way to drive even if the law permits it. In Washington state, every intersection is a crosswalk whether or not it's marked, and you have to stop for any pedestrian crossing an intersection whether or not the light says the pedestrian can be there.

I hope these car companies get local laws right. But it would be best if they did the safe thing even if local laws didn't require it.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#110
post #105

> Drive Pilot can only be engaged on a certain highways, and the car must not exceed 40 miles per hour. > The system will only operate during the daytime, in reasonably clear weather, and without overhead obstructions. Inclement weather, construction zones, tunnels, and emergency vehicles will all trigger a handover warning [1]. There's a very limited subset of areas that one would be able to use this. [1] https://cl…

Mercedes system seems as capable as my 2002 Nissan's cruise control.
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