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Waymo updates 3,800 robotaxis after they 'drive into standing water'

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Re: Waymo updates 3,800 robotaxis after they 'drive into standing water'

#11

Post by AnimalMuppet »

wombat-man wrote: post #7
Animats wrote: post #2

That's a tough problem - distinguishing wet pavement from deep water. Humans make that mistake frequently. Autonomous vehicles should probably be equipped with a water sensor. (We did that in our DARPA Grand Challenge vehicle back in 2005). Then they can enter water very cautiously and see if it's too deep. This may make them too cautious about shallow puddles on roads, though.

If they have a laser measurement of the road from before, couldn't they see that the level of water vs the expected road surface?

If they have a pre-existing database of every road, sure. And if it's kept up-to-date at all times in all vehicles.

Re: Waymo updates 3,800 robotaxis after they 'drive into standing water'

#14

Post by qwerpy »

Analemma_ wrote: post #10
Desafinado wrote: post #6

FFS, can we just go back to talking to each other in person and driving our own vehicles? Where'd the 90s go?

Just this morning I was almost killed twice on my bike ride to work by two separate drivers, one of whom looked to be 80 and could barely see over the dashboard, and one who was on their phone. I didn’t even bother trying to remember the plate numbers, knowing that the odds of any kind of consequences are absolute zero. No, we can’t go back to driving our own vehicles. Waymo everywhere and human driving outlawed, ASA…

Agree. Multiple people I know have bought Teslas because they don’t trust themselves or their spouses to drive safely, and want them to use FSD. There should be incentives to get people onto self driving.

Re: Waymo updates 3,800 robotaxis after they 'drive into standing water'

#15

Post by superfrank »

bethekidyouwant wrote: post #4

What is a recall in this case? Is them getting a software update a recall now?

They suspended service areas they deem high risk until the software update can be applied. So while, yes, it's just a software update, it's a recall in the sense that they've temporarily pulled all the cars off the road in certain areas

Re: Waymo updates 3,800 robotaxis after they 'drive into standing water'

#16

Post by tintor »

wombat-man wrote: post #7
Animats wrote: post #2

That's a tough problem - distinguishing wet pavement from deep water. Humans make that mistake frequently. Autonomous vehicles should probably be equipped with a water sensor. (We did that in our DARPA Grand Challenge vehicle back in 2005). Then they can enter water very cautiously and see if it's too deep. This may make them too cautious about shallow puddles on roads, though.

If they have a laser measurement of the road from before, couldn't they see that the level of water vs the expected road surface?

Such detailed database of fine grained road geometry gets stale very quickly, due to road maintenance and road construction. In US highway lanes are shifted sideways frequently.

Re: Waymo updates 3,800 robotaxis after they 'drive into standing water'

#17

Post by throwway120385 »

tintor wrote: post #13
srameshc wrote: post #5

Does anyone with a better understanding about LIDAR vs camera approach to autonomous drivng explain how would Tesla handle such situation ?

LIDAR isn't helpful for water. Standing water behaves like a mirror on LIDAR.

Could you use a different spectrum of EM radiation to detect water? There are parts of the microwave band that attenuate the signal by absorption and I wonder if you could use that. The only clue a human driver has in that situation is in the visible spectrum. The lines of the road disappear from view, which can be challenging to see at night.

Re: Waymo updates 3,800 robotaxis after they 'drive into standing water'

#18

Post by OptionOfT »

Animats wrote: post #2

That's a tough problem - distinguishing wet pavement from deep water. Humans make that mistake frequently. Autonomous vehicles should probably be equipped with a water sensor. (We did that in our DARPA Grand Challenge vehicle back in 2005). Then they can enter water very cautiously and see if it's too deep. This may make them too cautious about shallow puddles on roads, though.

Doesn't Land Rover historically have like a wading sensor?

Re: Waymo updates 3,800 robotaxis after they 'drive into standing water'

#20

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

bethekidyouwant wrote: post #4

What is a recall in this case? Is them getting a software update a recall now?

Yes, this is a common terminology issue. "Recall" is legally defined in terms of the kind of problems that require one, not the solution to those problems, because the relevant regulations were written when there was no way to fix consumer products other than physically delivering them to the manufacturer or an authorized repair person.
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