The Lidar provider attacks Tesla – and allows the Model X to bypass the Puppets

1. 24a automatic
2. News
3. Social media

created: 06.09.2021updated: 05.09.2021, 3:51 pm

from: Sebastian Oppenheimer

In a promotional video, lidar manufacturer Luminar wants to highlight the quality of its products – and the Tesla pedestrian dolls have been outdone.

Orlando (USA) – Most manufacturers today rely on a combination of different technologies for their assistance systems. This often consists of cameras, radar, and ultrasound. In order to bring fully autonomous cars onto the roads at some point, many car manufacturers still need another technology: a laser scanner, also known as lidar. Such a system is capable of creating detailed three-dimensional images of the environment. Complex technology is still considered relatively expensive – even if that will change in the future. However, lidar provider Luminar sees lidar not only useful for robotics, but can also prevent accidents here and now in collaboration with existing assistance systems. To show how well this works, the company compares the Lexus system equipped with the right technology.SUV cars With a Tesla Model X that doesn’t work well. (Tesla tells drivers: What technology helped investigative authorities)

The Lidar provider attacks Tesla – and allows the Model X to bypass the Puppets

In the promotional video Luminar (Which can be found here on YouTubeTime and time again one sees how a blue Tesla Model X walks around dummies of pedestrians – sometimes from the outside, sometimes from the driver’s perspective. Makers allow you too Audi A5 rushes to test puppets, but the focus already seems to be clear Tesla to lie. In an excerpt posted on Twitter (It can be found here), only Tesla is used. Accompanied by dramatic music, you see Model X advance over and over, you hear it beep and then the phantom effect follows. According to the video, the car – apparently it was intended for a Tesla – in principle, had no brakes at all. On the other hand, the test vehicle equipped with lidar, always stops in time, even at 50 or 60 km / h. (Tesla: Elon Musk sees current fully autonomous driving ‘not great’)

Lidar provider attacks Tesla – it’s better to avoid collisions than just weaken them

According to Luminar, today’s systems focus primarily on collision mitigation – that is, impact mitigation. It also has to do with the fact that they are not always aware of the impending collision in time. And if such a system cannot avoid such accidents even in a case as simple as a test track, then, according to the lidar provider, it is virtually impossible to implement this in large-scale autonomous vehicles, especially in urban traffic. The video also criticizes the NCAP (= manufacturer independent crash test program) test scenarios regarding active safety systems: these are easy to solve and also rely on “legacy sensors” like cameras and radar. (Waymo started a bot run in San Francisco — but doesn’t trust its own technology)

Of course, the question arises as to why Luminar chose Tesla as the primary comparison tool in its video. According to the data in the commercial, they wanted to know how they could compete against one of the most respected brands in the advancement field. assistance systems to cut. But there may also be another reason to choose: because the Tesla head Elon Musk (50) He wants to go a different route – instead of using several systems (currently cameras, radar, ultrasound), he just wants to rely on one thing in the future – cameras, As announced in a post on Twitter. In all likelihood, Lidar will fall for Tesla. And perhaps Luminar wants to prove that this was the wrong decision. Can Elon Musk be changed with this video?

You can find the most exciting automotive topics in our free newsletter, Which you can subscribe to here.