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cludinsk t1_ivv8hih wrote

Waymo has been testing in Phoenix for a couple years now, and in the Bay Area. Can’t wait for them to test in major cities/places with snow/etc as well, Phoenix is less challenging.

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Cdn_citizen t1_ivvb8m1 wrote

Pretty sure snowy places will get it last lol you can’t read ice on the road with sensors or predict how your car will react when on it lol

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OozeNAahz t1_ivvq5my wrote

They will just send them to a storage lot when inclement weather hits till it is completely gone.

I figure they will probably use them like a flock of birds and send them all south for the winter to work in warmer cities.

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OriginalCompetitive t1_ivw1q3d wrote

Probably not even necessary. How many days do cities with snow actually have snow sitting on the roads? A dozen or less?

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Cdn_citizen t1_ivw3bwm wrote

It’s less so snow sitting on the roads as to the melting and freezing cycles over night that’s the issue. Plus I’m in Canada and sometimes a polar vortex can keep it so cold that even road salt doesn’t work and ice remains on city roads.

In that case snow + ice = bad time to be self driving and lack the intuition of a human driver.

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Boring_Ad_3065 t1_ivvn53z wrote

You probably could, but I’m certain it’s more difficult and more expensive. I’m also guessing heavy snowfall or rain messes with a lot of the sensors. Guessing it’ll be years before they work out those scenarios most of the time.

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Cdn_citizen t1_ivw3lh3 wrote

I’m honestly not even sure they’ll ever be able to. The sunlight at dawn and dusk already blinds the sensors on my car’s lane keeping sensors and stops it from functioning

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baelrog t1_ivxd17w wrote

Sunlight at dawn and dusk also blinds humans, so there's that.

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Cdn_citizen t1_ivy4y0m wrote

Humans can put on sunglasses and lower sun visors.

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Ambiwlans t1_ivwqxux wrote

Visibility is an issue but sdcs have superhuman reflexes and have no fear or surprise. Ice isn't an issue, they'll be far safer from loss of control than humans.

The biggest issue in snow is neither of those. It is that humans drive very differently in a way that'd be illegal typically and that's challenging for sdcs. Learning that where the lanes actually are matterless than where people are driving, etc.

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Cdn_citizen t1_ivy5ozh wrote

That's the issue, Sdcs don't have a fear or surprise in addition not intuition either.

It can't for example anticipate a person crossing the street from behind a vehicle and possibly prepare to brake if that person actually ends up crossing or if they are just getting into their car. A human driver would have their foot over the brake or be prepared to move away from them should they unexpectedly cross.

I'm not sure where you're from but people drive and follow the rules of the road when it snows in Canada. The only exception would be the lane markings being covered but my car can't see the lane markings when it rains anyway so that's not a snow issue.

Also sdcs can misread signs, a human far less likely to do so. For example HOV signs.

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Ambiwlans t1_ivy8ln3 wrote

You fundamentally don't understand the tech you're talking about.

Fear and surprise doesn't make faster reactions, it makes worse ones. Imagine sdcs are people driving where time is slowed down 100 fold. Their reaction speed is that much better. Reaction speed to a sudden object for a person is 750ms ... a sdc is maybe 20ms. It isn't close.

And yes, when snow covers lane markings, humans stop using them. They also drive to avoid deep snow and ploughed snow. This is very erratic behavior that needs to be learned. Vision isn't the issue. With some radar types and quality maps, a sdc could see like it was a clear summer day during whiteout conditions.... but other drivers would appear to have gone insane.

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Cdn_citizen t1_ivytwxs wrote

I don’t have to understand the tech. I’m testing it every day with real life scenarios. It’s not anywhere near ready.

You are so sold on your beliefs you’re not looking at reality. Have you not noticed all the car ads stop pushing self driving and more towards driver assistance this year?

There’s a reason.

P.S, You can downvote me all you want but that does not change the facts.

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tidbitsmisfit t1_ivwal7v wrote

why even bother with snow areas? just do easy areas and build out the company

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