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This Company Is Crowdsourcing Maps For Self-Driving Cars (wired.com)
mirandakatz writes: If we want self-driving cars to become mainstream, we need maps -- and not just any maps. We need ridiculously detailed and constantly updated maps of the world's roads. And there's a mad race among startups to become the definitive provider of those maps. At Backchannel, Steven Levy takes a deep look at Mapper, a startup that just came out of stealth today and that hopes to become that definitive provider by crowdsourcing the production of those maps, paying drivers to drive around with a special mapping device on their windshields. As Levy writes, "Mapper's solution is to create an army of part-time workers to gather data that will accrue to a huge "base map" for autonomous cars, and to update the map to keep it current. Think of the work as an alternative to driving for Uber and Lyft, without having to deal with customer ratings or backseat outbursts from Travis Kalanick."
Google already has the tech for this. They demoed it. Their OS will be everywhere including cars. I'm sure that this war has already been won.
Sounds like something OpenStreetMap already does, though there are probably accuracy and liabilities limitations? Though, based on the following sentence, I would suspect the map data they produce is not going to be open:
Mapper’s solution is to create an army of part-time workers to gather data that will accrue to a huge “base map” for autonomous cars, and to update the map to keep it current.
The other thing is whether they will reference publicly the sources of their data, otherwise there is likely to be a high risk of ripping off other sources and even including the same errors.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
If we want self-driving cars to become mainstream, we need maps
No. If these systems require more accurate maps [than human motorists require] to keep passengers alive, then the self-driving peons still don't get it.
A human can handle things like, "Upon reaching the entrance to that rural property, follow the gravel until it looks like a better idea to be on the dirt path, and maybe park on the grass next to that other car".
People are already talking about self-driving cars without any operator controls, and I just don't see that happening without a general AI, because there's so much knowledge and abstract understanding of the world required to operate a car in unusual circumstances.
Or, for those of us in snowy climates, to operate a car when the road isn't visible and you have to make judgement calls on where the pavement most likely is based on whatever cues you can find.
Or how to cooperatively route through or around construction without being so polite you sit there forever while all the pushy drivers jam in front of you.
I doubt I'll still be alive before there's a car that doesn't need a human to operate it a significant amount of the time. I would very much like to be able to put my car on 'autopilot' while on a long highway drive in good conditions and take a nap without fear of dying in my sleep, and I think that's achievable.
https://xkcd.com/1897/
Oddly, only from a week or so ago.
And Tesla is getting this data from every car they sell, for free.
is self-driving cars that collect self-driving maps data for self-driving cars.
as does comma.ai
(With the small difference that their software is opensource,
and their hardware is not vendor specific)
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
What about areas without connectivity? If self driving cars *need* these maps to work then how will they ever work if you drive away from an internet connection?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.