I think we are in the equivalent of the "uncanny valley" here with these features where they are just good enough to be disturbing. My take on everything I have experienced with the car so far (this issue, observing the AP in various traffic and road conditions) is that they are trying to do too much beyond what information their sensor suite can really provide. I'm sure that if I was sitting in a black box with only the inputs this car has (not counting my visual system), I would have a hard time inferring what was going on too. From what I have gleaned from tech support I think both the ultrasonic and radar sensors might have a hard time making sense of fast moving objects (relative to the vehicle) since they supposedly don't directly sense Doppler shifts and do not have enough sensors or a high enough refresh rate or range to infer the motion other ways. The video system could compensate for this, but I'm not sure how much it is really doing.
I'm perfectly happy to let the car watch and learn, but I'm not willing to compromise on my or other's safety on the road if something isn't working right yet.
I'm perfectly happy to let the car watch and learn, but I'm not willing to compromise on my or other's safety on the road if something isn't working right yet.
These are the kinds of things that make me so skeptical of ever having self driving cars. Automated driving assist systems have their advantages like always being alert, but they can likely never compete with the intelligence, rich sensory feedback, situational awareness and abstract processing capabilities of a healthy human. Until our road system is revised, there are times when our biological advantages will continue to outweigh the technological advantages of our digital co-pilots. This incident is one example.
Not saying they shouldn't keep working at it, just saying I think a lot of people expect too much too quickly. If autopilot systems are forced on drivers, it will actually be a net negative in the early years for drivers who stay alert and drive responsibly.