Ever see those self-driving cars with the “spinny thingies” on top? Those are self-driving cars in training, and they’re now in major US cities. Google’s Waymo, a self-driving technology company, is launching its 5th fully driverless ride service in Atlanta. Last week, Tesla got into its very first, launching its limited Robotaxi service in Austin, with safety monitors in the car.
Tesla, in its marketing-first fashion, has released their service to Tesla-friendly influencers in certain areas of Austin. Google’s Waymo cars are fully autonomous in areas of Austin and Atlanta.
The key difference between the two is the technologies they use.
Tesla uses a series of 8 cameras for their Full Self Driving (Supervised) system that all use image detection.
Waymo uses pre-generated custom maps of its coverage areas and uses LiDar, Radar, and image sensors—which is why you see that spinny thingy on top.
Tesla’s system is much cheaper, and older versions of the software were shown to be fooled by fake backdrops—think Wile E. Coyote roads painted on walls. It even hit a mannequin that was covered with a haze of smoke.
Although reviews of Tesla’s service were generally good—as you’d expect from a bunch of Tesla fans—there was a clip where a car suddenly veered into the oncoming lane.
The Society of Automotive Engineers defines 6 levels of driving automation—from 0 being fully manual to 5 being fully autonomous. Waymo is at level 4, which requires no human engagement. The passenger doesn’t even need to be paying attention and may not even have a pedal or steering wheel. This level wouldn’t be trusted for a cross-country drive; it is better suited for short trips in well-known environments.
Tesla is at level 2. This means a human supervisor needs to sit in the vehicle at all times. Given how limited the camera system is, it’s likely they will continue to be at level 2 for some time. However, these camera-only systems are much cheaper and faster to scale.
In theory, self-driving cars sound nice. But with big tech companies at the helm, we know there are no free rides. These systems will be used to push smart city agendas, where humans will be deemed unfit to drive and all car travel will be tracked and controlled through these driverless ride services.
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