L5 Question

[KArnold]

I was downtown of a big city, first in line at a stoplight, rightmost lane 2 of 2. Lots of traffic and pedestrians. Light changed but before I moved I heard a siren, but it was not visible. Very quickly I could tell it was coming from my left by sound alone. After maybe 2 seconds it became visible. A couple more seconds later a fire truck goes by.

At some point you would think emergency vehicles would transmit a location and all cars would have a Valentine 1 kind of display telling them which direction its coming from.

But until then does L5 require a need to hear? Or are those few seconds for such a 1-off case not worthwhile?

Just curious.

 

[Mo City]

When listening to Elon's broadcast to the AI conference in China last week, I remember him mentioning something about audio.

Obviously it's required for L5.

 

[Tam]

...siren, but it was not visible...

I don't think the industry is doing audio for their L5. They are just like legally deaf drivers for now.

They are concentrating on visual cues which might be too close to react in time.

...At some point you would think emergency vehicles would transmit a location and all cars would have a Valentine 1 kind of display telling them which direction its coming from.,,

Good idea but it costs money so it's not prioritized for now.

 

[diplomat33]

I was downtown of a big city, first in line at a stoplight, rightmost lane 2 of 2. Lots of traffic and pedestrians. Light changed but before I moved I heard a siren, but it was not visible. Very quickly I could tell it was coming from my left by sound alone. After maybe 2 seconds it became visible. A couple more seconds later a fire truck goes by.

At some point you would think emergency vehicles would transmit a location and all cars would have a Valentine 1 kind of display telling them which direction its coming from.

But until then does L5 require a need to hear? Or are those few seconds for such a 1-off case not worthwhile?

Just curious.

I don't think the industry is doing audio for their L5. They are just like legally deaf drivers for now.

They are concentrating on visual cues which might be too close to react in time.

Great question. The "Safety First" document, that was put together by a consortium of autonomous driving companies, does list microphones as a recommended sensor for precisely this scenario.

Page 47:

Waymo cars are able to pull over for police and emergency vehicles. The cars detect the appearance of the cars, their sirens and their emergency lights. Here is what Waymo says in their guide to first responders on page 11:

"The Waymo vehicle uses its sensors to identify police or emergency vehicles by detecting their appearance, their sirens, and their emergency lights. The Waymo vehicle is designed to yield as appropriate to these emergency vehicles no matter which direction they are headed. If a Waymo fully self-driving vehicle detects that a police or emergency vehicle is behind it and flashing its lights, the Waymo vehicle is designed to pull over and stop when it finds a safe place to do so."
First Responders – Waymo

 

[Tam]

...does list microphones...

Very good info. Thanks so much!