And this ay-bee-ess system is able to control the car and bring a car to a stop on snow and ice in way shorter a distance a human is able to, to the point that new drivers are taught to stomp on the brakes and let the computer control the brakes because it's able to do it better than an ordinary human; this system is controlled by computers? But then somehow driving on snow is going to be this total show stopper that is just utterly insurmountable gotcha for computers driving cars? Nevermind that crawl, walk,
and then run/go out in the snow is a totally reasonable way to deliver a product, and that even if it never works in the snow, there's enough of the global that doesn't get snow (no thanks to global warming) that it's still a worthwhile investment, even if only to prevent drunk drivers from choosing to driving drunk during the summer months.
Driving on snow is just an exercise in modeling friction in a computer and which way the car will go given available sensor input. Self driving cars don't innately have a concept of friction the same way a human with feet does, and they're able to drive on static asphalt, and also snow, with some training. Human drivers should practice driving in the snow in a parking lot to understand how the car slips and slides and grips operates under those conditions before taking to the road. (It's also fun!)
I'm sure it'll take a lo of doing to winterize the sensor packages and for the software to work well enough to be reliable when there's just snow on the ground that hasn't been plowed recently, nevermind when it's actively snowing. But personally I think it's a when and not if as to whether or not self driving taxis will ever hit New England. (No guess as to a specific timeframe though, lol.)
Driving on snow is just an exercise in modeling friction in a computer and which way the car will go given available sensor input. Self driving cars don't innately have a concept of friction the same way a human with feet does, and they're able to drive on static asphalt, and also snow, with some training. Human drivers should practice driving in the snow in a parking lot to understand how the car slips and slides and grips operates under those conditions before taking to the road. (It's also fun!)
I'm sure it'll take a lo of doing to winterize the sensor packages and for the software to work well enough to be reliable when there's just snow on the ground that hasn't been plowed recently, nevermind when it's actively snowing. But personally I think it's a when and not if as to whether or not self driving taxis will ever hit New England. (No guess as to a specific timeframe though, lol.)