Experts Tell US Agency to Slow Down on Self-Driving Cars

[FrodosPet]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SELF_DRIVING_CARS_CAUTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-04-08-15-37-19

BY JOAN LOWY - ASSOCIATED PRESS
Apr 9, 4:33 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Engineers, safety advocates and even automakers have a safety message for federal regulators eager to get self-driving cars on the road: slow down.

Fully self-driving cars may be the future of the automotive industry, but they aren't yet up to the demands of real-world driving, several people told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration during a public meeting Friday.

~ snip ~

But many of those who addressed the meeting, the first of two the agency has scheduled as it works on the guidelines, described a host of situations that self-driving cars still can't handle:

-Poorly marked pavement, including parking lots and driveways, could foil the technology, which relies on clear lane markings.

-Bad weather can interfere with vehicle sensors.

-Self-driving cars can't take directions from a policeman.

-Inconsistent traffic-control devices such as horizontal versus lateral traffic lights.

~ snip ~

[global1]

1. So We Have To Work On Infrastructure And ....

climate control first?

[FrodosPet]

2. It's always going to rain or snow somewhere

Even if we are not perfect drivers, at this point we are MUCH better at driving in crap weather.

Automated cars have to use a host of sensors and a lot of software to be able to tell the difference between discolored pavement and a pothole. All these inputs have to be coordinated into a high resolution snapshot of the car's current situation, as well as knowing what the current combination of speed, trajectory will be causing the vehicle to do. And all of this has to happen in a fraction of a second.