Self-Driving Cars thread

Didn’t see any general monitoring threads for this emergent design topic in the archives.

1 Like

Worthwhile topic.

Not much to add except for recently watching a video of a bro picking up his CT and having the steering break as soon as he left the lot. But he mentions that self-driving wasn’t coming to the CT soon. Maybe a good thing.

The closest I’ve felt to the promise of self-driving is Hwy 280 going south to Palo Alto. Everyone doing 85mph, paying attention, and moving as a mass. This was back in 2005 so maybe it’s different now.

The 280 is still pretty great. I live in San Francisco, and any time I need to drive south I gladly take the extra five to ten minutes from taking the 280 over the congestion, disrepair, and general anxiety of the 101.

1 Like

Samsung halts self-driving research.

[Financial News] While Apple is withdrawing from the development of self-driving electric vehicles, which it has been working on for 10 years, Samsung Electronics is also discontinuing advanced research on self-driving car algorithms (software). Samsung Electronics plans to focus its capabilities on research on robots, a future food technology, instead of autonomous driving, which has uncertain prospects for commercialization.

According to the industry on the 9th, SAIT (formerly Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology), which is in charge of advanced research for Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor (DS) division, made the final decision to exclude autonomous driving from its research projects on this day. SAIT will convert the development staff that was used to research autonomous driving software into ‘robot intelligence’ research and conduct research on future robotics, including humanoid robots. Samsung Research, an advanced research and development (R&D) organization under the Device Experience (DX) division, is also not currently conducting autonomous driving-related research, so this decision effectively halts Samsung Electronics’ autonomous driving-related research.

Previously, Samsung Electronics received temporary permission to operate self-driving cars from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2017. At the time, Samsung Electronics accelerated autonomous driving research by stating that the reason for the application was ‘plans to develop next-generation sensor intelligent components that combine reliable autonomous driving algorithms with artificial intelligence and deep learning.’ Five years later, last year, SAIT succeeded in driving a 200km section from Suwon, Gyeonggi-do to Gangneung, Gangwon-do without driver intervention using the autonomous driving algorithm developed by SAIT. The industry estimates that Samsung Electronics has secured the necessary prior technology to realize level 4 autonomous driving, in which the driver does not intervene except in emergency situations such as bad weather. For this reason, observations have been raised that Samsung Electronics is aggressively expanding its development area to include ‘brains’ for self-driving cars in addition to semiconductors, displays, and sensors for self-driving cars, and is devoting company-wide capabilities to the electronics business.

However, like other big tech companies that have begun developing autonomous driving technology with a rosy future in mind, Samsung Electronics is said to have recently encountered the ‘reef’ of a shrinking electric vehicle market and technological difficulties.

Apple also decided last month to disband the ‘Special Project Group’ that developed the Apple Car. Apple, which has been developing self-driving electric vehicles under the name ‘Project Titan’ since 2014, stopped R&D related to self-driving after 10 years. Instead, Apple plans to focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

SAIT plans to invest the technology and know-how accumulated through autonomous driving research into ‘robot intelligence’ research. Autonomous driving technology is considered a core technology for future robot technology.
Currently, Samsung Research is also actively conducting robot-related research, and as SAIT is also joining robot intelligence research, some predict that there will be synergy in Samsung Electronics’ robot research. Samsung Research, which operates a robotics center under its wing, hired manager Jeong-Hyeon Kwon, an expert in self-driving robots from NVIDIA of the U.S., as a managing director last year. Managing Director Kwon is leading the robot intelligence team at Samsung Research Robot Center and is focusing on research on autonomous driving technology for robots.

We can take a look at Japanese (as well as other country) sleeping pods busses. They are essentially what it is really should look like inside in terms of safety (I mean seat belts and ergonomics which are commonly not discussed in a number of autonomous mobility projects). Plus, if autonomous vehicle will use public road, it is still subject of all the same dangers of mistakes or reckless driving from other parties. Let’s take airplane autopilot (which works great in certain situations) - pilot still monitors the radar information, TCAS, as well as airplane stats because of same reasons.
And if autonomous vehicle fails, what should one do in the middle of the winter blizzard with -10 degrees outside while he sleep? And really - one pod for 1-2 people is just overkill in terms of ecological impact

Small progress made by Tesla this week. ASS is released.

Hmmm…what’s going on here? Current state of the art vs Wall Street’s after hours reaction.

Because the cybertaxi is total nonsense!
Tesal full self driving is till vapourware. The form factor of the cybertaxi is totally wrong. I mean, why the stupid doors???
A autonomous taxi needs to take its basic designs from a taxi, like the famous London taxi, a vehicle specifically designed as a taxi.
The cybertxi is a car, a car most people would struggle to get into.

Investors are right to have doubts. The cybertruck isn’t exactly a glowing success and where is the roadster and the semi??

Tesla had their time and people are getting pissed off with Musk and his craziness

1 Like

Those 1930’s white wall tires and papier mâché wheel covers…ugh.

I hear and see this sentiment quite a lot. Many in the auto industry are frustrated with the current marketplace. When many brands are pulling back their programs (Ford, Polestar) and going bankrupt (Fisker, Arrival) Tesla keeps making splashes with launch parties, production increases and they keep innovating while others retreat and cancel innovation programs.

On the financial side, the investor class continues to be incentivized to make a return by loaning governments money via. the 10-year bond (+4.0% rate since 2022) rather than invest in stocks.

The “no spending on advertizing or marketing model” continues to allow Tesla to spend heavily on R&D. And grabbing booster rockets out of thin air for reuse the same week you roll out your latest FSD effort does not hurt Tesla’s image as an Elon Musk DNA holder.

Tesla channeling Syd Mead.


Tesla has nothing to do with spacex, other than Musk.
Where is this innovation you speak of? what have tesla delivered recently??
And I say delivered, because Elon musk has been saying full self driving is 2 years away, the problem is, he has been saying that for the past 10 years.

1 Like


I posted this on Linkedin and I’ll post it here. I think that this was rushed to try to give one more pump and dump to Musk. After his appearance with Trump, I assume that there is an accounting scandal brewing at Tesla. I guess we’ll find out in 2025 or maybe 2029?

I did find it funny that he announced full self driving was coming to Ys next year…but they already have full self driving, right? I guess that’s what happens when you have chronic verbal diarrhea.

The van looks like a copy of a Honda concept from 15 years ago too, just stretched for NA. Fully skirted front and rear wheels…umm OK.

2 Likes

mindblowing car too good to be true i guess

as fake as Trumps tan

Musk’s disdain for graphic design(ers).