That is very interesting. High definition maps perhaps not, but I do hope maps of some kind are an integral part of the logic.
For example on a country road near my house, the road veers left while a side street continues perfectly straight. The current auto-pilot has a very hard time staying on the main road and almost always disengages before putting enough left-steer to stay in lane.
A human who didn’t know about the road (no knowledge of the left bend ahead), and who missed the big yellow “left curved arrow” sign, would likewise probably end up going straight onto the side street.
This is a hierarchy of stateful awareness which I believe is essential for successful self-driving — the only way to increase NN weighting to the point where the car will convincingly execute the left bend to stay on the main road is some awareness that a left bend is upcoming. This is a case where you can’t drive the road by staring at the lines. And there are many, many others.
For example on a country road near my house, the road veers left while a side street continues perfectly straight. The current auto-pilot has a very hard time staying on the main road and almost always disengages before putting enough left-steer to stay in lane.
A human who didn’t know about the road (no knowledge of the left bend ahead), and who missed the big yellow “left curved arrow” sign, would likewise probably end up going straight onto the side street.
This is a hierarchy of stateful awareness which I believe is essential for successful self-driving — the only way to increase NN weighting to the point where the car will convincingly execute the left bend to stay on the main road is some awareness that a left bend is upcoming. This is a case where you can’t drive the road by staring at the lines. And there are many, many others.