My point is if the best we can do is a LIDAR detection auto-stop then that's not full autonomy, and I question how close we'll actually get to contextually aware autonomy.
> To your point about rail network, there are autonomous rail lines—I’ve used the new light rail system in Macau, and trains are entirely driverless.
That is actually really cool to hear. I know I come across as a Luddite by having a pessimistic view on car autonomy, but I will be happy if we can crack it.
If there is rain and/or your payload is heavy, that increases your braking distance, so accordingly detection should either work further ahead or your speed would have to be reduced to allow for safe braking.
> is the object moving toward me
This is a very valid point. If not all vehicles are autonomous, even on a well-protected highway it is possible to have a cascading accident caused by human mistake. This would even be an issue if all vehicles are autonomous, since some could be hijacked by owners.
In my view this type of “dumb” object detection for emergency braking purposes should work together with contextually aware AI-based overall autonomy, not instead of it. Upthread I wrote “an autopilot should not be entrusted to decide further”, which was perhaps ambiguous—meant that in context of an anomaly ahead.
With that in mind, is this really a question of context? The presence of an entity that reflects LIDAR should be enough of a reason for the system to brake.
Yes, this would imply lower threshold of what would be a situation that warrants braking, and hence on many ordinary streets autopilot may become unusable or car movement could be perceptually too slow.
To your point about rail network, autonomous rail lines do exist—I’ve used the new light rail system in Macau, and trains are entirely driverless. (From my observation of their behavior, they do not appear to be controlled remotely either.) I imagine some factors that impede innovation in this space do apply to cars (e.g., track security), but others don’t (guaranteeing stopping distance for long trains with heavy cargo, keeping people employed, arguably less flexible infrastructure).