Uber 'Neglected' Simulation Testing For Its Autonomous Vehicles, Says Report (engadget.com)

According to a report from The Information, Uber allegedly "neglected" simulation testing for its autonomous vehicles. "The publication's sources claim that there was a dearth of investment in the simulation software, and lots of incompatible code between the autonomous vehicle software and simulation software Uber is developing internally," reports Engadget. "However, the sources said there isn't a direct link between the lack of investment and the fatal accident involving one of Uber's autonomous taxis and a pedestrian." From the report: It's worth noting that the Unreal Engine-powered simulation software is still relatively new. The Information writes that the suite wasn't developed until after self-driving project lead Anthony Levandowski was fired mid-2017. To add insult to injury, initially, there were also differences in pay between simulation engineers and other engineers in the department. The end goal was to release a self-driving car in Arizona this year, codenamed "Roadrunner," to compete with Waymo's offering just outside of Phoenix.

Comments

beta testing doesn't belong on the road

[Anonymous Coward]

all these self-driving companies are literally beta testing this with people's lives

it's one thing to rush your software out, try to patch later and make up for hardware flaws with workarounds

it's another thing when painted lines and stationary objects are completely missed or purposely ignored by the software

I know everyone wants their fully automatic cars right now but they needs YEARS of independent testing and debugging before this code is allowed on the road