Ford CEO Jim Farley said he thought that Lidar is “critical of the mission” for any autonomous driving system and that when a brand like Ford explores technology, it must “be very careful” in its approach.
Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival last week, Farley was pushed by the biographer of Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson, to compare the current autonomous driving systems of Tesla and Waymo, asking what approach was most meaning.
Farley’s response was “for us, Waymo”, according to Fortune, as he explained that Waymo had made a lot of “progress” in the field of self-clarity.
In a Stark contract with Waymo’s approach, which, in its current sixth generation, sees a series of 13 cameras, 4 Lidar, 6 radar and a range of external audio receptors act like its eyes and ears, Tesla uses a network of eight cameras to give it a 360 -degree view of the environment.
Elon Musk has long been a defender of a “only on the camera” approach to autonomous driving technology, calling Lidar “lame” during a day of autonomy in 2019 and by removing the sensors of his cars, rather choosing to refine his camera technology and his software in order to rationalize the manufacturing process and reduce costs.
“The problem with Waymo cars is that it costs much more money,” Musk said during Tesla’s quarterly call in April. “The car is very expensive, made in low volume. Teslas probably costs 25% or 20% of what a waymo costs and does in very high volume. ”
Although Ford no longer pursues its autonomous driving joint venture with Volkswagen (nicknamed Argo AI), it continued to develop its own Bluecruise technology, which pushes a little further by allowing drivers to withdraw from the wheel when certain driving criteria are met.
Analysis: Better to be safe than sorry
Elon Musk believes that artificial intelligence has improved at a rate such as the need for Lidar technologies, ultrasound and voluminous and expensive camera is not necessary for the highest levels of autonomous driving.
But so far, his company in Robotaxi has been seen only on public roads with a security operator on the passenger headquarters and is already the subject of a survey for the alleged erratic behavior of certain vehicles.
Above all, it still has a path to go before catching up with the operation of Waymo, which is already fully active in a number of American cities.
Using only eight cameras, as opposed to the accomplished suite that Waymo works, limits the amount of redundancy systems available.
As Jim Farley points out: “Where the camera will be completely blinded, the Lidar system will see exactly what is in front of you.”
The construction of an autonomous and reliable driving system is the only way to strengthen public confidence in technology. Once at this stage, companies should then examine the means of improving technology and reducing costs, rather than rushing to cut the corners.
