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I'm kind of worried by the fact that the system judges depth based on visual cues (like a human with one eye closed does) instead of actual depth sensing hardware, to the point that the system needs to recognise kangaroos specifically. Shouldn't the car stop for any obstacle, even ones it doesn't recognise? They surely can't expect to train it on every possible type of debris.
Why does it need to recognize specific types of animals? It seems like bad programming practice to code (or learn) for each specific case. Is there not a way to program cars to avoid animals more broadly, or simply objects that are moving towards the road?
Why does it need to recognize specific types of animals? It seems like bad programming practice to code (or learn) for each specific case. Is there not a way to program cars to avoid animals more broadly, or simply objects that are moving towards the road?
I'm kind of worried by the fact that the system judges depth based on visual cues (like a human with one eye closed does) instead of actual depth sensing hardware, to the point that the system needs to recognise kangaroos specifically. Shouldn't the car stop for any obstacle, even ones it doesn't recognise? They surely can't expect to train it on every possible type of debris.
A risk would be a car suddenly braking for leaves or a plastic bag crossing the road.
Why does it need to recognize specific types of animals? It seems like bad programming practice to code (or learn) for each specific case. Is there not a way to program cars to avoid animals more broadly, or simply objects that are moving towards the road?
Imagine a 700kg (1,500 pound) moose with velvety brown fur suddenly wanting to cross the road at night in front of your car when you are traveling 120km/h (74mph).
That weight is all up high too on spindly legs. It's like running into a high table with 700kg of weigh on it.
Lots of human drivers are confused by kangaroos and kangaroos are confused by cars especially at night. You see an awful lot dead kangaroos on the side of the road in rural Australia. As an aside, kangaroos in motion are one of the most efficient and elegant mammals. I love watching them bounding away at speed effortlessly dodging scrub and trees - more like flight than running.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Plus if there is anything the human vision system is optimized for it would be seeing and assessing an unknown large mammal.
History (and personal experience) shows pretty clearly that humans are really bad at predicting the movements of kangaroos, though. (I've never been in a car that hit one, but have had some close calls) The things seem to be able to effortlessly execute 90 degree turns between hops, at speed. Safety lesson: if you see kangaroos travelling alongside the road you're driving on, slow way down so you can execute an emerg…