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0 pointsrefulgentis5y ago0 comments

_The_ moonshot, Waymo. People are sleeping on that you can hop in a perfectly safe robotaxi today, the ride along videos are stunning.

0 comments

anchpop5y ago

A robotaxi without a human driver! For some reason Waymo seems way ahead of everyone else in self-driving

ra75y ago

As an outsider, the reason why Waymo is way ahead is clear. Extremely talented team, access to Google infrastructure and expertise, deep pockets and a culture of prioritizing safety over everything.

solarkraft5y ago

Maybe they are, but their service is super constrained and retains human supervision - just remote controlled.

aetherson5y ago

The actual thing that self driving cars get you is "not paying for a taxi driver."

If one remote operator can supervise 10 mostly autonomous vehicles, you've gotten 90% of the economic value of full autonomy.

1 more reply

ra75y ago

They can't be remote controlled i.e. remote operators can't steer the car. They can only "answer questions" apparently.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/SelfDrivingCars/comments/e8bfse/way...

rorykoehler5y ago

I don’t understand people saying full self driving is decades away. We have it always albeit in a very restricted geo fence.

throwawayzRUU6f5y ago

Barring some radical breakthrough, progress usually follow an asymptote. Waymo has reached their asymptote after perfecting their autonomous driving for over 10 years, and is still not confident enough to launch it even in their spherical-cow geofence.

The real world is full of edge cases - cameras fogging up, proximity sensors confused by ice buildup, thick fog limiting visibility, sun low on the horizon blinding the cameras, badly marked construction sites, black ice, line markers under snow, potholes, slush, contradictory traffic signs, deep puddles, worn out ruts, suicidal wildlife, road debris, etc. etc.

teacpde5y ago

The full self driving product that people expect isn’t a beta product that’s only available in a special region. To be accessible as running water, decades away is probably accurate estimation.

rorykoehler5y ago

In the mean time we can all drive around in our self driving cars while we wait for them to become a reality? It doesn't make any sense. Either they exist, albeit in a limited form, or they don't. Does it get you from a to b in most normal daily use cases? If yes, then it counts.

ZephyrBlu5y ago

I would apply the 90/90 rule here [0]. It looks ready, but I don't think their safety is up to scratch yet and I'm almost certain the cars aren't safe in adverse conditions.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety-ninety_rule

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0 comments

anchpop5y ago

A robotaxi without a human driver! For some reason Waymo seems way ahead of everyone else in self-driving

ra75y ago

As an outsider, the reason why Waymo is way ahead is clear. Extremely talented team, access to Google infrastructure and expertise, deep pockets and a culture of prioritizing safety over everything.

solarkraft5y ago

Maybe they are, but their service is super constrained and retains human supervision - just remote controlled.

aetherson5y ago

The actual thing that self driving cars get you is "not paying for a taxi driver."

If one remote operator can supervise 10 mostly autonomous vehicles, you've gotten 90% of the economic value of full autonomy.

1 more reply

ra75y ago

They can't be remote controlled i.e. remote operators can't steer the car. They can only "answer questions" apparently.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/SelfDrivingCars/comments/e8bfse/way...

rorykoehler5y ago

I don’t understand people saying full self driving is decades away. We have it always albeit in a very restricted geo fence.

throwawayzRUU6f5y ago

teacpde5y ago

The full self driving product that people expect isn’t a beta product that’s only available in a special region. To be accessible as running water, decades away is probably accurate estimation.

rorykoehler5y ago

ZephyrBlu5y ago

I would apply the 90/90 rule here [0]. It looks ready, but I don't think their safety is up to scratch yet and I'm almost certain the cars aren't safe in adverse conditions.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety-ninety_rule

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse