On any given day, there could be a half dozen autonomous cars mapping the same street corner in Silicon Valley.It seems kind of tautological that they're using autonomous vehicles to create maps because they need maps for autonomous vehicles.
Yeah, I know, specialty equipment... but still.
Actually, what seems really odd is that new maps are that big of a deal. The cars need maps for normal navigation, sure, but you wouldn't expect that they would rely on anything too precise for safety reasons alone. The cars need to be able to adapt to possibly changing conditions and can't misbehave (at all) just because a street closed, cones are on the street, etc.
Unlike conventional digital maps, self-driving maps require almost-constant updates. The slightest variation on the road—a construction zone that pops up overnight, or a bit of debris—could stop a driverless car in its tracks. “It’s the freak thing that happens that’s going to make autonomous not work,” said McNally, the analyst.
I would call an autonomous vehicle that couldn't handle some debris "fundamentally broken".
Seriously, this mapping thing smells like a boondoggle.
It seems kind of tautological that they're using autonomous vehicles to create maps because they need maps for autonomous vehicles.
Yeah, I know, specialty equipment... but still.
Actually, what seems really odd is that new maps are that big of a deal. The cars need maps for normal navigation, sure, but you wouldn't expect that they would rely on anything too precise for safety reasons alone. The cars need to be able to adapt to possibly changing conditions and can't misbehave (at all) just because a street closed, cones are on the street, etc.
Unlike conventional digital maps, self-driving maps require almost-constant updates. The slightest variation on the road—a construction zone that pops up overnight, or a bit of debris—could stop a driverless car in its tracks. “It’s the freak thing that happens that’s going to make autonomous not work,” said McNally, the analyst.
I would call an autonomous vehicle that couldn't handle some debris "fundamentally broken".
Seriously, this mapping thing smells like a boondoggle.