Waymo issues software and mapping recall after robotaxi crashes into a pole • Hacker News Board

Re: Waymo issues software and mapping recall after robotaxi crashes into a pole

#41

Post by choppaface » Thu, Jun 13, 2024, 7:11 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #10

" The update corrects an error in the software that “assigned a low damage score” to the telephone pole." What did it get classified as? What's a Waymo allowed to hit?

In lidar it could have looked like a tall traffic cone or a one of those skinny flexible posts that line the boundaries of some bike lanes. Those things cause much less damage. Telephone poles are obviously much thicker but in lidar space the two can look more similar especially if the cloud is very sparse or the sensor is broken.

Re: Waymo issues software and mapping recall after robotaxi crashes into a pole

#42

Post by choppaface » Thu, Jun 13, 2024, 7:12 AM UTC

bastawhiz wrote: post #2

This is the most interesting part, in my opinion: > Waymo’s recall was deployed by the company’s engineers at the central depot where the vehicles return for regular maintenance and testing. It was not through an over-the-air software update, like some of Tesla’s recent recalls. I'd be interested to learn more about why the updates are manual, and also whether the map data is fully local to the vehicle. Tesla obvious…

Could be a lidar failure, or potential failure, that needed a firmware update to address.

Re: Waymo issues software and mapping recall after robotaxi crashes into a pole

#43

Post by Animats » Thu, Jun 13, 2024, 10:47 PM UTC

dpig_ wrote: post #40

Animats wrote: post #10

" The update corrects an error in the software that “assigned a low damage score” to the telephone pole." What did it get classified as? What's a Waymo allowed to hit?

I kind of love the idea that Waymo sees the world as an RPG, and that mundane objects have damage statistics. I hope Tesla knows I do poision damage.

Other road users could be classified on the lawful/chaotic and good/evil axes.

Well-behaved vehicles are lawful good. Skateboarders are chaotic good. Drunk drivers are chaotic neutral. Road ragers are chaotic evil. Chaotic users are less predictable, and evil users require active evasion.