# Google's self-driving cars have driven over 2 million miles — but they still need work in one key ar



## WeirdBob (Jan 2, 2016)

*Google's self-driving cars have driven over 2 million miles - but they still need work in one key area*

Danielle Muoio | Dec. 24, 2016, 12:40 PM

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-self-driving-cars-not-ready-for-snow-2016-12

. . .

Google has been developing its cars since 2009 and one of its favorite stats to share about the project is that its self-driving cars have driven over 2 million miles. Google, which spun out its self-driving car unit into an independent company called Waymo last week, wrote on the Waymo website that the cars now have "the equivalent of over 300 years of human driving experience, largely on city steets."

That kind of mileage shouldn't be taken lightly - Google's cars are extraordinarily perceptive and can recognize objects that can be difficult for self-driving cars to see, like bicycles.

But at a time where Google is feeling growing pressure from competitors like Uber and Tesla, the tech giant has yet to test its self-driving cars in cold weather or snowy conditions. As anyone hailing from the East Coast or Midwest can attest, driving in snow is a required skill.
. . .

Snow poses a particular set of challenges for self-driving cars because it can confuse the systems they rely on to get around, like cameras and lidar, a sensor that uses lasers to map the car's surroundings so it can "see" the world.
. . .

"Heavy snow and rain tend to confuse lidar sensors and also cameras," John Dolan, principle systems scientist at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, previously told Business Insider. "So you end up having some problems."
. . .​


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

MIT Lincoln Laboratory has developed
a sensor that provides real-time estimates
of a vehicle's position even in challenging
weather and road conditions. The
Localizing Ground-Penetrating Radar
(LGPR) uses very-high-frequency (VHF)
radar reflections of underground features to
generate baseline maps and then matches
current GPR reflections to the baseline
maps to estimate a vehicle's location.

The article titled "Localizing Ground
Penetrating RADAR: A Step Toward Robust
Autonomous Ground Vehicle Localization,"
published in the January 2016 issue of the
Journal of Field Robotics
, describes Lincoln
Laboratory's demonstration of 4 cm cross-
track localization achieved by a vehicle
driven at 60 mph under fair weather conditions.
Recent work demonstrated real-time
centimeter-level, highway-speed, nighttime
localization during a snowstorm that had
obscured all lane markings.

https://www.ll.mit.edu/publications/technotes/TechNote_LGPR.pdf

*Tesla Autopilot: Driving Autonomously? NO LINES! And NO Lead Vehicle! *






*Ford's Industry first autonomous vehicle tests in snow *






I didn't want anyone to get the idea from your edited down and cherry-picked articles that they weren't solving the challenge.


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## Gi joe (Sep 19, 2015)

RamzFanz said:


> MIT Lincoln Laboratory has developed
> a sensor that provides real-time estimates
> of a vehicle's position even in challenging
> weather and road conditions. The
> ...


Key word "some" level of snow conditions


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Gi joe said:


> Key word "some" level of snow conditions


Currently. The key point being these aren't unsolvable issues some want to pretend they are.


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## Do tell (Nov 11, 2016)

In my opinion,no problem is unsolvable with time.I think one day SDCs will be inevitable.If they want them on the roads within 5 to 10 yrs.They're going to have to have their own designated lanes and designated stopping areas to be successful in the beginning.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Do tell said:


> In my opinion,no problem is unsolvable with time.I think one day SDCs will be inevitable.If they want them on the roads within 5 to 10 yrs.They're going to have to have their own designated lanes and designated stopping areas to be successful in the beginning.


They are 2-3 years from introduction according to most companies. The Waymo already operates well in traffic.

Stopping areas would be helpful for the passengers.


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## Jermin8r89 (Mar 10, 2016)

Whats the point of haveing cars? Just take public transportation. Its like buying madden just so u can watch the coputer play itself


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## Gi joe (Sep 19, 2015)

RamzFanz said:


> Currently. The key point being these aren't unsolvable issues some want to pretend they are.


Nothing is solvable until it is solved. I understand that there will be self driving vehicles, I just have a feeling they are going to roll them out despite public safety at hand.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Gi joe said:


> Nothing is solvable until it is solved. I understand that there will be self driving vehicles, I just have a feeling they are going to roll them out despite public safety at hand.


I don't think they'll be allowed to. Michigan has applied to have the first self driving proving grounds to certify cars as road ready. They aren't just going to be able to put them out there unproven.

Public safety doesn't mean perfect. If self-driving cars can save half the lives lost in a year, they will be approved. Perfection is unattainable. Sometimes seat belts kill people who would have otherwise lived.

If a drug company proved it could cure people with terminal cancer half the time, but it would kill the other half in the same time period they would have died anyway, it would be approved.


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## Gi joe (Sep 19, 2015)

RamzFanz said:


> I don't think they'll be allowed to. Michigan has applied to have the first self driving proving grounds to certify cars as road ready. They aren't just going to be able to put them out there unproven.
> 
> Public safety doesn't mean perfect. If self-driving cars can save half the lives lost in a year, they will be approved. Perfection is unattainable. Sometimes seat belts kill people who would have otherwise lived.
> 
> If a drug company proved it could cure people with terminal cancer half the time, but it would kill the other half in the same time period they would have died anyway, it would be approved.


The issue with that is your taking the fault away from the human being and now placing it in some abstracts hands. I and my fellow man have the liability of each others safety right now, autonomous cars takes that away.


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Gi joe said:


> The issue with that is your taking the fault away from the human being and now placing it in some abstracts hands. I and my fellow man have the liability of each others safety right now, autonomous cars takes that away.


The outcome of fault will not change. If the owner of the SDC is at fault, their insurance compensates the victim. If it's negligence, civil court is how you demand additional compensation and criminal courts penalize willful negligence or malice. Nothing changes. Liability is liability.


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## Gi joe (Sep 19, 2015)

RamzFanz said:


> The outcome of fault will not change. If the owner of the SDC is at fault, their insurance compensates the victim. If it's negligence, civil court is how you demand additional compensation and criminal courts penalize willful negligence or malice. Nothing changes. Liability is liability.


I guess you can say it will be like flying in an air craft, I the passenger has no control over what happens. Just is what it is I guess.


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