Sir, you have nailed it. No serious robotics project deployed to date does anything more than Good Sensors + Good Geometry. And I do not think a revolution is required, just good old time.

At some point the right balance of sensor quality and manufacturing processes will converge to be an affordable solution to highway driving. (broad daylight, then dusk, then maybe rain, etc etc).

If history is any guide (airlines anyone?) This will come along piecemeal, and the CEOs being forced to make ridiculous promises to appease shareholder anxiety will be given nice scapegoat packages along the way.