> but why can't you run both the new and old code side by side and if the actions they take are materially different investigate further?
Because there are no closed facilities that you can use to actually perform any meaningful test. You could test "in-situ", but you would need an absolutely _huge_ testing area in order to accurately test and check all the different roadway configurations the vehicle is likely to encounter. You'll probably want more than one pass, some with pedestrians, some without, some in high light and some in low, etc..
It's worth noting that American's drive more than 260 billion miles each _month_. It's just an enormous problem.
This particular case might have been testable "in-situ":
[ABS News Reporter] Dan Noyes also spoke and texted with Walter Huang's brother, Will, today. He confirmed Walter was on the way to work at Apple when he died. He also makes a startling claim β that before the crash, Walter complained "seven-to-10 times the car would swivel toward that same exact barrier during auto-pilot. Walter took it into dealership addressing the issue, but they couldn't duplicate it there."
It is very believable that the car would swivel toward the same exact barrier on auto-pilot.
BTW - I'm running a nonprofit/public dataset project aimed at increasing safety of autonomous vehicles. If anyone here wants to contribute (with suggestions / pull requests / following it on twitter / etc) - you'd be most welcome. Its: https://www.safe-av.org/
This is where simulators play an important role. Many AD( automated driving) solution suppliers are investing into simulators to create different scenarios and test performance of their sensors and also SW. Else, as you said itβs impossible to drive billions of miles to cover all usecases.
Because there are no closed facilities that you can use to actually perform any meaningful test. You could test "in-situ", but you would need an absolutely _huge_ testing area in order to accurately test and check all the different roadway configurations the vehicle is likely to encounter. You'll probably want more than one pass, some with pedestrians, some without, some in high light and some in low, etc..
It's worth noting that American's drive more than 260 billion miles each _month_. It's just an enormous problem.