Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

viksnewsletter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 187 posts

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#81

Post by UltraSane »

jaimex2 wrote: post #30
kieranmaine wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a recent No Priors podcast with the Waymo Co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov, he talks about how they evaluated just driving with cameras and how it isn't good enough for full autonomy and doesn't meet their bar for safety [1]. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6RndtrwJKE&t=1119s

They went deep down the wrong path and need to justify their mistake. Waymo will be killed off any day now.

I find opinions like this to be almost as crazy as saying that the earth is flat because Waymo has a working, truly self-driving taxi service RIGHT FREAKING NOW while Musk is still promising to have one some day in the hazy future while NEVER making a single vehicle that can actually drive without someone in the car. Musk rejecting LIDAR means that he fundamentally doesn't understand the technological challenge of self-driving despite have access to the world's experts OR he is cynically using false promises of self-driving to pump up Tesla share price. I know which one I think is true.

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#82

Post by UltraSane »

ra7 wrote: post #63
jaimex2 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They went deep down the wrong path and need to justify their mistake. Waymo will be killed off any day now.

Google killing off Waymo by giving them $5.6B just a few weeks ago!

What do they actually use that much money for?

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#84

Post by UltraSane »

ra7 wrote: post #68
Klaus23 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is simply not true. Let's look at the best autonomous driving features available today, i.e. level 3: Mercedes Drive Pilot: Uses a lidar (and a dummy unit) up front. BMW Personal Pilot: Uses a lidar (and a dummy unit) up front Honda SENSING Elite: Uses 5! lidars They all use lidar, and some of the placement locations are downright hideous (Mercedes EQS). I think further development will require even more/better…

Chinese OEMs (BYD, Xaomi, Nio) use lidar in almost all of their mid to premium segments. Also, Polestar 3.

How well do they work? Camera only systems can be easily blinded by sun, fog, dirt, and snow

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#85

Post by JayPalm »

Animats wrote: post #8

That's a reasonable basic overview. I'm surprised that rotating scanners are still used. It's been twenty years since Velodyne built their first one. They work OK, but cost too much. I was expecting flash LIDAR or MEMS mirrors to take over. Continental, the auto parts company, bought the leading flash LIDAR company over a decade ago, but the volume market a big parts company needs never appeared. Waymo is still using…

Continental is folding their automotive LiDAR division and is laying off everybody.

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#86

Post by fragmede »

fragmede wrote: post #29
tgaj wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theoretically if a human can drive a car using a pair of eyes connected to brain, it should be possible to do that using two cameras connected to some kind of image processing unit.

If we want the sell driving computer to be only possibly as good as a human. I can't see in the dark, can't see through fog, and have trouble with rain. Why is human visibility the bar to meet here?

Oh and the sun. I get blinded when the sun is in my eyes at sunrise and sunset.

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#87

Post by dawnerd »

jdhwosnhw wrote: post #43
tgaj wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theoretically if a human can drive a car using a pair of eyes connected to brain, it should be possible to do that using two cameras connected to some kind of image processing unit.

Imagine that same reasoning applied to the car itself. Ugh, wheels?? Humans get around just fine bipedally, so cars should have legs too.

Explains the Tesla robot actually

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#88

Post by xnx »

UltraSane wrote: post #79
m0llusk wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waymos sometimes stop briefly in parking spots while waiting for assignments, but they don't really park as such except in special lots. The big problem I have seen is they tend not to always pull to the curb when releasing passengers and if a door is left even slightly ajar then they will sit there requesting the door be closed even if they are blocking a lane with many cars behind them beeping.

Not having a motor and thus having to depend on people to close doors on an autonomous car seems very silly.

Waymo's custom designed 6th generation vehicles[1] with self-closing doors were expected to enter service this year, but have [probably] been put on indefinite hold due to tariff issues

[1] https://waymo.com/blog/2021/12/expanding-our-waymo-one-fleet...

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#89

Post by tgot »

brcmthrowaway wrote: post #40

Is there a lidar unit I can take home and scan my house at high resolution (than iphone)?

Lookup the RPLidar family of devices. Cheap 1D, easy to work with. By 1D I mean that it measures ranges in 360degrees around the plane that it is spinning in.

Re: A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology

#90

Post by UltraSane »

xnx wrote: post #88
UltraSane wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not having a motor and thus having to depend on people to close doors on an autonomous car seems very silly.

Waymo's custom designed 6th generation vehicles[1] with self-closing doors were expected to enter service this year, but have [probably] been put on indefinite hold due to tariff issues [1] https://waymo.com/blog/2021/12/expanding-our-waymo-one-fleet...

can't they retrofit a door closer to their current cars?
Post reply on HN