Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla self-driving plan: “This is not how it works”

Re:Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla self-driving plan: “This is not... by neillyons on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:23AM (#25901609)

Elon talked about LIDAR at the autonomy investor day. Basically he said that the Dragon spacecraft has LIDAR and he spearheaded that effort. He also said that LIDAR and cameras both use the same wavelength, if you are going to add a sensor it makes more sense to add one which is outside of the visible wavelength.

Even though I know nothing about driverless cars, the reasoning from Elon makes sense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM23sjhtk4Q

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Re:Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla self-driving plan: “This is not... by mikejb on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:45AM (#25901758)

Whilst Lidar and cameras may have similar wavelengths, they have very different information outputs. Cameras give you a 2D colored image from which you essentially guesstimate the distance of objects. Lidar gives you a 2D depth map with much higher confidence in the data that comes out of the stream.

Elon has a high incentive to talk down Lidar in cars: He/Tesla placed the bet initially on cameras because Lidar is/was too expensive, and promised these cars will be able to drive themselves ("regulatory approval pending"). Retrofitting Lidar is not an option (price, sensor&cable placement), so a lot of his (and Tesla's) promises ride on cameras working out and Lidar not being necessary. A lot of Tesla's (Car's and Car company's) value rely on cameras working out and Lidar not being necessary.

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Re:Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla self-driving plan: “This is not... by Seanambers on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:43AM (#25902491)

From what I understand Teslas have a front facing radar giving them accurate range measurement forward and they incorporate that in and use nets to do SLAM for other angels where the radar isn't.

But i'm not an expert in this so take it with a grain of salt please :)

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