China Blocks Foreign Companies From Mapping Its Roads for Self-Driving Cars (thedrive.com)

The Chinese government is blocking foreign companies from mapping its roads in great detail, according to a Financial Times (paywalled) report. The restrictions, which reportedly do not apply to Chinese firms, are being instituted in the name of national security. China is concerned about spying. From a report: China has restricted the recording of geographic information for more than a decade because it believes giving other countries access to that information constitutes a security risk. Geographic surveys can't be performed without permission from the government, and many digital cameras don't record GPS coordinates for geotagging, as they do in other countries, according to Fortune.

Comments

Then the cars aren't truly self-driving

[b0s0z0ku]

If a car needs a detailed map to drive itself, instead of responding to visual cues like signs, curb position, road markings, then it's not truly "self driving." Self-driving cars should be able to follow maps of the level of detail given by (say) Google Maps -- they should be able to operate with GPS info and knowing how roads are "networked."

Re:Then the cars aren't truly self-driving

[K. S. Kyosuke]

they should be able to operate with GPS info and knowing how roads are "networked."

Just like human drivers without maps and any knowledge of the neighborhood, right? Very efficient!

Re:Then the cars aren't truly self-driving

[Tablizer]

If a car needs a detailed map to drive itself, instead of responding to visual cues like signs, curb position, road markings, then it's not truly "self driving."

The more clues it has, the better. This applies to humans also.

But the bigger issue here is unfair competition: local firms get extra info that foreign firms don't. Being we have a huge trade gap, partly because of this kind of favoritism, I hope the Trump administration makes an issue out of it and threatens sanctions.

This is the kind of thing voters hoped Trump would focus on, instead of Twitter fights with athletes. He used to always rail against China's trade practices. Let's hope the Good Trump comes out instead of the Distracted Trump.

Re:Then the cars aren't truly self-driving

[vux984]

"If a car needs a detailed map to drive itself, instead of responding to visual cues like signs, curb position, road markings, then it's not truly "self driving."

What it if it doesn't 'need', what if it just 'benefits from' it?

I mean, are you personally better at driving on streets that you know? You know which lights are stupid, the road with really bad potholes, you know about the blind driveway on the corner of X, you know that there's a school at Z where kids are often playing. You know there's always a lineup that backs out onto the road from the starbucks at Q between 7am and 9am, and that the construction at F is makes left turns hard, etc. You know every driveway, twist, turn, and ramp, and elevation change, where its safe to pass, where its safe to pull over, where to get gas, where to park.

Are you really just as comfortable looking at an out of date map for a city you've never been to?

You don't need the extra information, but it sure helps.

Re:Then the cars aren't truly self-driving

[Anonymous Coward]

But the bigger issue here is unfair competition: local firms get extra info that foreign firms don't

So, you'd be OK with a Chinese company doing detailed mapping of US military bases?

And, really, let's be honest ... the entire US foreign policy/trade policy is "America First" and is entirely built on American exceptionalism and local firms getting a leg up.

What you'll have to learn is in tandem to the notion of American Exceptionalism is the rest of the world not giving a fuck and refusing to treat you like spoiled children who feel entitled to a better deal.

America is well on its way to being insufferable pricks you might find nobody cares about propping up your ego. And Trump with his small hands and tiny brain might have to realize that "no, the rest of the world has no interest in buying your stuff if you're going to be assholes, and we're certainly not giving you sweatheart deals based on your charming personality".

Trump is already telling the world that he's fixing to the do very same thing. And we're all getting ready to just "fuck off and go away, America".

I'm not sure Americans fully appreciate the extent to which China already owns much of your economy. So good luck with those sanctions.