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The Lowdown on Lidar

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Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#161

Post by DanBC »

lnanek2 wrote: post #139
Karunamon wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed - the original title, about a guy beating a LIDAR ticket, was much more descriptive than this headline, which effectively says "This article is about LIDAR".

Yeah, I had to read a lot of slides wondering why it was repeating the same thing over and over before I realized he was trying to beat a ticket. It definitely isn't a general purpose tech primer like the new title makes it sound, it's just focused on covering an error situation that gives you a legal out.

He tells you it was about a ticket on the third slide.

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#162

Post by grandalf »

squeaky-clean wrote: post #132
kudu wrote: post #83

Why do HN mods keep changing the title from meaningful ones, which make the reader interested in the content, to generic, vague ones? You'll see that there's definitely a correlation between the moment that HN mods change the title and the post dropping off the top frontpage spot.

I saw the earlier title of this post while flipping through HN on my phone, and I wanted to read the full article during my lunch break. Now here I am, I checked the front page and was very confused where the post I was interested in went, and why some post apparently describing Lidar is at the top. I guess they're trying to keep the title to match the title of the link/article. But sometimes the article just has a b…

I had the same experience exactly.

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#163

Post by Karunamon »

mnarayan01 wrote: post #130
Karunamon wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what happens when you are caught breaking into a building, and the camera is evidence of your crime? This entire line of reasoning would completely destroy any kind of automated crime detection (security systems, security cameras), which is ridiculous on its face. Further, what happens when you commit a crime where there are no witnesses? People are rightfully convicted of crimes based on "things" rather than the…

> Further, what happens when you commit a crime where there are no witnesses? Someone testifies as to what they've witnessed that makes them believe you are guilty, giving you a chance to question them about any flaws.

Okay. And how does a speed/red light camera preclude this?

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#164

Post by weaksauce »

Arjuna wrote: post #150
curtis wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd really like to see more transparency when it comes to title changes. The most recent case where one of my submissions had a title change mirrors what kudu is describing here: a meaningful (and I think accurate) title changed to a generic and vague one -- followed by a rapid decline in the rate of upvotes. I think there are legitimate reasons for title changes, and I think that the Hacker News mods generally do go…

"I'd really like to see more transparency when it comes to title changes." I think dang is working hard to be transparent about this topic. You can see a number of examples of this by reading through the following search result [1]. Cases in point: He has reverted titles to their original form... "Ok, we'll change the title back again." [2] He is open to suggestions... "If anyone suggests a better title, I'll change…

I think having the original title as an option to be shown inside the comments would be nice.

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#165

Post by saosebastiao »

koenigdavidmj wrote: post #152
saosebastiao wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have yet to get into an accident, but I actively avoid walking across several streets in Seattle because of a combination of entitlement thinking (This road is mine because I'm in a car!), and pervasive speeding. I'm not the only one...I recently found out almost nobody on my side of a local road will cross the road due the same problem. The road, therefore, has become a barrier to commerce and has split a communit…

What road are you talking about in particular? If it's something like 15 Av NW in Ballard, it's pretty obvious that you're meant to cross at a light, even if you legally have more of a right to cross at the uncontrolled intersection one block away. It's unreasonable to expect a highway-in-all-but-name to stop for one person when marked, lit crossings exist within five blocks at all points along the road.

In Ballard there are two. I'm specifically talking about Leary between Market and the 15th Ave overpass, but Market itself is quite the same way east of 15th.

Even in the case of normal 2 lane roads, drivers here still act like pedestrians do not have the right to cross anywhere but a crosswalk (and some don't even respect the crosswalk), and it only gets worse with 3 and 4 lane roads because that is where the drivers tend to drive significantly over the speed limit.

And yes, I do consider it reasonable to expect cars to stop for pedestrians in all scenarios where pedestrians have the right of way. A 5 block detour to cross the street can add another 15 minutes to your quick trip...what would happen if the situation were reversed? Can you imagine the outrage that would happen if cars had to drive 15 minutes out of their way? Slowing down for 5 seconds to let someone walk across the street is a miniscule inconvenience in comparison.

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#166

Post by kybernetikos »

GHFigs wrote: post #144
kudu wrote: post #83

Why do HN mods keep changing the title from meaningful ones, which make the reader interested in the content, to generic, vague ones? You'll see that there's definitely a correlation between the moment that HN mods change the title and the post dropping off the top frontpage spot.

Alternate questions: Why do authors keep using generic and vague titles? Why do submitters keep submitting content with generic and vague titles?

A title for someone who is already reading your blog fulfills a different purpose to a title for someone on an aggregator.

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#167

Post by kudu »

kudu wrote: post #83

Why do HN mods keep changing the title from meaningful ones, which make the reader interested in the content, to generic, vague ones? You'll see that there's definitely a correlation between the moment that HN mods change the title and the post dropping off the top frontpage spot.

FYI, the original title was "Josh Bloch Fights a LIDAR Speeding Ticket (with Science)". Whereas that title gave information about the intention and action of the author (fighting a ticket), the updated title is relatively bland and refers to LIDAR in general.

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#168

Post by kudu »

DanBC wrote: post #153
kudu wrote: post #83

Why do HN mods keep changing the title from meaningful ones, which make the reader interested in the content, to generic, vague ones? You'll see that there's definitely a correlation between the moment that HN mods change the title and the post dropping off the top frontpage spot.

"Why do we revert to orginal titles" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6572466 The question has been asked, and answered, very many times. The guidelines have advice about threads like these: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

"We don't do this because it's too inflexible. [...] In others the subtitle makes a better title. But the fact that a title field is editable doesn't make it comment."

The original title of the post wasn't a comment on the content, but rather somewhat of a subtitle, which provided a better description.

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#169

Post by darkmighty »

I think he missed a couple important points. The sweep effect, shaking and aiming are more amenable to signal processing than it seems, depending on the resolution and noise in the system. I tried to illustrate in pictures:

1) Just to demonstrate that a nonuniform sweep is amenable to detection or processing, consider this picture, with the correct estimate in green: http://imgur.com/FsPAwCn

2) Now imagine the device is more sophisticated. Consider it has a very large resolution around the incoming pulse: http://imgur.com/z8UrhUw In this case the beam width is actually beneficial, and so are large distances. The sweep effect would cause a shift in the peak intensity shown in the graph, but the object depth frustrum should be clear across samples (and dislocating at t'=t-v*dt/c).

3) Officers can be trained to recognize situations unforable, regardless of distance. One fast car passing a slow one would make it easy to confuse the equipment. A clear desert however doesn't present many threats for error.

Re: The Lowdown on Lidar

#170

Post by michaelt »

timthorn wrote: post #57
malchow wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I can't believe [average speed camera systems are] not implanted at least in all interstate freeways." Possibly because a civil society, favoring the preservation of a measure of basic autonomy, does not implement every measure for tracking, enforcing, circumscribing, and monitoring the people.

In practice, they're actually very good for improving traffic flow on busy roads - because almost everyone is driving at the same speed, jams just don't form in the same way. The utilitarian argument for them is very strong.

  The utilitarian argument for them is very strong.
Doubtless a national numberplate recognition system would be effective at enforcing the speed limit.

Once we have it, it would also be of great utility to investigate kidnappings and terrorism. And serious and violent crime. And vehicle thefts. And drug trafficking. And driving without a license, insurance, or tax. And lying about your address to get your kid into a good school.

And who could object, when we're already storing proof of what really happened, to that proof being used to vindicate the innocent in a divorce hearing, or an employment tribunal?

As faithful believers in the free market, what better way to fight congestion and encourage the use of public transport than a tax that only applies on congested roads, and only at peak hours of the day? What luck, the infrastructure is already in place.

No doubt the system will be expensive to design and operate. It would help defray the costs if we release citizens' travel records to some carefully vetted partners, such as academic researchers, urban planning consultants, insurance companies, marketing companies and credit rating agencies.

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