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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'

#141

Post by Caracas288 »

CSMastermind wrote: post #130
xnx wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waymo has LIDAR and cameras, so it is better equipped for every situation.

This seems tautological, but in practice, you might expect to see different results. Engineering hours are finite, so if they're spread across interpreting signals from two different sources, they might not go deep enough to make either one as good as it could be. Having your engineering resources more focused on a particular approach might actually yield better results. I say this as someone who's dealing with LiDAR…

More often than not, constraints refine and focus a project, rather than restricting it. It’s best to start work with as few variables as possible, and only add new ones when absolutely necessary; You make a lot more progress that way.

For very complex things like AVs, it is critically important to keep the number of such variables down, since each acts on complexity & workload not as an addition but more like a quadratic, or worse—combinatorial explosion.

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

#142

Post by lazide »

ajkjk wrote: post #56
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.

Pretty sure the right answer mainly involves the car knowing about the weather and other emergency events.

All that it can take is a broken fire hydrant in the wrong place.

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

#143

Post by lazide »

amluto wrote: post #129
computomatic wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is ultrasound less expensive than a moisture sensor? The problem with both is they effectively require the vehicle to be in the water already. They need something that can tell depth before the vehicle has to slow down.

What kind of moisture sensor are you thinking of?

Probably an exposed set of electrical contacts and a resistance meter.

Unfortunately, those get screwed up in climates where there is salt used on the roads.

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

#144

Post by marvinkennis »

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.

They should really just park themselves on the side of the road (or observe in real time), wait for another car to go first, then follow that path

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

#146

Post by cryptoegorophy »

xnx wrote: post #9
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 ?

Waymo has LIDAR and cameras, so it is better equipped for every situation.

What if they oppose each other? Which one do you trust?

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

#147

Post by bombcar »

stavros wrote: post #127
bombcar wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's some places where Apple still thinks I'm driving through a cornfield even though the development is a few years old, now. I suppose I could inform them somehow, but it's not worth the bother.

I don't know how they don't notice thousands of users driving through these "cornfields" at 60mph every day, though. You'd have thought that'd raise some alert?

I’ve literally watched my car (only car around) trigger the yellow heavy traffic warning (because I was driving slow to look for something).

Yet thousands of cars doing 60 mph through a cornfield and over a river doesn’t trigger a “maybe a freeway was built here?”

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

#150

Post by gerdesj »

cryptoegorophy wrote: post #148

How is this only being solved now? Isn’t it a very common thing that happens on roads or what am I missing? At least few times a year I have to go around major puddles, Waymo just speed boats through them? I doubt to believe.

Around 40 years ago, I was cycling around Andover (Hants, UK). Me and a mate were whizzing around near a small artificial lake. I decided to run into what I thought was shallow water and it wasn't. With hindsight that was a really daft failure of perception but you live and learn.

Forty years later touch wood I have not yet broken myself or a car ...

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