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BMW tests next-gen LiDAR to beat Tesla to Level 3 self-driving cars::Tesla’s autonomous vehicle tech has been perennially stuck at Level 2 self-driving, as BMW and other rivals try to leapfrog to Level 3.
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I hate that the article opens with
Just a decade ago, the concept of self-driving cars might have seemed like something out of a science fiction movie
Ten years ago there was already a ton of competition in self driving car research. They were first legalized on the roads 10 years ago. Tesla autopilot (including it even though it was a scam) was sold 9 years ago. Google spun off its self driving car division as waymo in 2016.
This feels like one of those “bruh Zelda ocarina of time came out 29 years ago, we old” memes
Hell, Mercedes and Bosch were testing it all the way back in 1993:
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=JTnBiTIvGqY
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
Bet even the self driving software of BMW won’t use turn signals when they change lanes.
It would be a bug if it did signal 🤣
This will probably be under monthly subscription
“The route you selected contains a highway. Please purchase the Highway Driving Pack in addition to your City Driving Pack to reach your destination”
Sounds like a pretty bad Black Mirror episode
Almost certainly.
But self-driving also depends on up-to-date mapping data and continually improved algorithms for the autonomous systems to work properly. An ongoing cost to the customer makes the most sense for a service that has operating costs to the service provider.
I mean, does it? Presumably the idea (that Tesla had anyway) is to try and mimic what humans do, and we don’t need mapping data to drive “safely” (for a given value of safe). Of course, humans also get lost, but again, the GPS updates is basically free at this point for the mapping help humans need. (Garmin stopped charging yearly long ago, Open Maps and Google Maps and Wayze all are “free”).
Only if they’re giving the hardware away with the car. Tesla is charging ~$15k upfront for FSD. It would be absurd to tack a monthly fee on top of that.
Why do you think you should get stuff for free?
Hardware has a cost. Running a service has a cost. Providing updates has a cost. If you don’t think you should be responsible for the costs of the things you use, you’re going to be disappointed pretty often. Venture-capital funded startups can only give away free shit for so long before they have to start giving returns
The goal is than no one owns anything anymore. Every company is after the sweet sweet recurring revenue.
Sample pricing for BMW self-driving add-on feature:
98% accuracy in obstacle avoidance - $299/mo. 85% accuracy in obstacle avoidance - $199/mo. 75% accuracy in obstacle avoidance (lowest legal limit!) - $99/mo.
disclaimer: BMW cannot guarantee 100% accuracy in accuracy pricing
Another possibility.
Unlimited* crash avoidance instances - $299.99/mo 10 crash avoidance instances - $199.99/mo 5 crash avoidance instances - $99.99/mo
*crash avoidance may be limited during peak hours and times of congestion. After 12 crash avoidance instances, feature may be disabled without notice due to abuse of the system. All sales are final and minimum 5 year contract required. Price may increase at any time without notice
My understanding was that the challenge in making the next leap in self driving was not based in hardware (detecting objects with cameras vs LiDAR), but in software. As in, it isn’t as difficult to detect the presence of objects as it is to make consistent and safe decisions based on that information.
But using LIDAR, you increase your data’s accuracy and dimensionality, giving you more options to play with. It probably won’t be a game changer, but it may be better than a camera only system.
Gathering more data, and being able to process it seems obvious as a way forward. How much better is this “new” LIDAR?
Edit: seems Tesla cars doesn’t even use LIDAR…
That’s not necessarily true. What you get is two separate things inputting raw data into a system that both need to be parsed. Sometimes, one won’t agree with the other and can cause issues with how the car thinks it should respond.
Nobody has a fully working system at this point, so it’s premature to make claims about what hardware is and isn’t needed. It may very well be that LIDAR is a requirement, but until somebody figures it out, we’re all just speculating.
Self driving cars are great and all, but can we get someone seriously working on alternative fuels? EV is really pretty unsustainable. All the resources going to build batteries that are unrecycleable is a massive waste in my opinion. And the unless something drastic changes, the ranges that are needed for logistics and America aren’t going to ultimately fix anything.
If they can create an alternative fuel that is significantly less polluting, or figure out how to make hydrogen less explody, the existing infrastructure worldwide of gas stations can still be efficiently used. And hopefully there will be a to retrofit existing vehicles to use this alternatives.
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My understanding is that EV batteries are actually very recyclable, up to 90%. I imagine it’s more labor intensive than your conventional lead-acid batteries though.
