For a newbie who does not own a Tesla (nor any other car with autonomy beyond cruise control), can anyone explain the following passage from Verge's review of the Audi A8, which appears to me to describe precisely what Tesla's Autopilot already does? I understand A8 has locked capability to do more than Autopilot, and I know that LIDAR is a good thing, generally. But what am I missing here? Is this in any way superior to Tesla's autonomy? Doesn't Tesla AutoPilot already handle traffic jams (plus, I think, normal-speed highway driving regardless of physical traffic-separation)?
In Audi’s parlance, the A8’s autonomous features translate as the “AI traffic jam pilot,” meaning the car can take control of the driving in slow-moving traffic at up to 60 kilometers per hour. The system is activated by a button on the center console, and it can take over acceleration, braking, steering, and starting from a dead-stop, all without the driver paying attention.
Let that sink in for a second. Using a combination of LIDAR (another first for a production car, Audi claims), a front-facing camera, radar, and ultrasonic sensors, Audi says the A8 is capable of driving all by itself at speeds of up to 37 mph. There are a couple caveats, obviously. The traffic jam pilot only works on highways with a physical barrier separating oncoming traffic, and the use of the system is subject to the laws of whichever jurisdiction you’re driving through.
Let that sink in for a second. Using a combination of LIDAR (another first for a production car, Audi claims), a front-facing camera, radar, and ultrasonic sensors, Audi says the A8 is capable of driving all by itself at speeds of up to 37 mph. There are a couple caveats, obviously. The traffic jam pilot only works on highways with a physical barrier separating oncoming traffic, and the use of the system is subject to the laws of whichever jurisdiction you’re driving through.
