But definitely we will see the "German family dies in death valley due to navigator failure" headline.
Not much different than today, then: http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hun...
It isn't that I can't easily solve these problems if I'm looking at the map, but since it is incapable of having me make a left turn it will often plot an "optimal" route that is 15 minutes longer than it should be, because the real optimal route looks like it takes longer due to the routing error. Not to mention that it often confuses delivery drivers. Note, that the incorrect route typically comes from the Android version of Google maps, but if I go on the web interface the route will be ok.
Sell all your property, move to India and get a job on their equivalent version of Mechanical Turk.
Or you can install OsmAnd and use the OSM dataset, which is not as comprehensive, but it doesn't many lies. At most, outdated data.
A 406MHz beacon is going to be relevant to a lot of scenarios that people get into in large sparsely populated countries like the US or Australia, because it means somebody knows where you are and that you need help, and then all they've got to do is come help you.
But seriously this is a pretty dangerous situation, especially in the snowy mountains. I remember reading an article about a Tesla engineer getting stuck on a trail in the Sierra's and his Jeep eventually being buried in 10+ ft of snow.
Edit: Found the article
https://jalopnik.com/a-tesla-engineers-jeep-ended-up-under-1...
Those won't use Google Maps.
All evidence is that the market will be dominated almost entirely by Tesla. In April Tesla presented[1] their state of the art in autonomous car vehicle design.
Elon repeatedly emphasized that GPS was inadequate and systems relying on it will fail. The Tesla full self-driving computer, already currently installed in nearly all Tesla vehicles, does not use GPS data to compute the driving solution.
P.S: Keep in mind that GPS is a positioning system, not a navigation system. Navigation comes from the mapping data used by GPS devices, and as for that autonomous vehicles needn't rely on the low quality map data from Google Maps other any other provider. A massive fleet of Tesla vehicles are providing constant validation of navigable routes right now.
(edit: updated link time to a couple of particularly relevant questions and answers in the same video)
They will use mapping data, and that is not a problem because the mapping data they have comes from their fleet of cars on the road which upload that data daily.
If any car encounters an incorrectly mapped route all cars will know it. And I expect you will not be able to create an autonomous route that a Tesla car has not already successfully traveled.
The problem of reporting issues to Google Maps is removed.
Since you mentioned Tesla’s current systems, note that this is how they work now. Lane keeping is entirely local, but decisions about which lane to be in or which exit to take to reach your destination are done with your GPS position.
The op's assertion that autonomous vehicles rely "heavily" on GPS data is false. The problem he presents will not occur.
This won't happen because the computer does not use GPS to determine drivability and will not drive the car into underivable conditions, and the computer will have selected a drivable route to begin with because it can select from routes that have previously been driven. If a route that was previously drivable becomes underivable due to local conditions, the car simply re-routes.
Neither the apparent drivability of mapping data, nor position within that data as computed by GPS effect the car's ability to travel autonomously from point A to point B.
It's certainly not reading signs. The system doesn't currently have that capability. It's a combination of GPS (to know where it is) and maps (to know how to go from where it is to the destination).
I 100% agree with you that the problems presented in the original comment wouldn't be an issue. The cars will use local data to determine whether a surface is drivable. They won't drive into sand or deep snow just because the navigation says that they should.
But that's not the same as your statement that they won't use GPS at all. And your statement that Tesla currently doesn't use GPS in their systems is plainly wrong.
I did not say Tesla's don't use GPS, they do. I said "It is unlikely that fully autonomous cars will use any GPS at all". My argument is not that you can't get google maps in your car, my argument is that the autonomous cars of the "Utopian future" will not need google maps to function, much less leave you stranded in an incorrectly mapped location.
Isn't the dream to be able to sit in the back seat and read a book or take a nap? The human occupant might not be aware anything's wrong until the vehicle is running out of battery or gas, or gets stuck in the sand (from the parent's experience).
There's a pass through the mountains near me that gets shut down during the winter due to snow every year. I go up there usually but don't need to go all the way through - and was surprised this year to see an official CalTrans sign saying:
"Your GPS is lying to you! The pass is closed! Turn back!"
I suppose enough people every year ignore the road closure signs and continue all the way until they get stuck... how would an autonomous vehicle know any better either?