HN Explorer

Ask HN: Tesla Autopilot in Snow/Rain?

4 points by nergal ↗ HN
I've been borrowing a Tesla Model S (w/o autopilot enabled) for a couple of weeks and the weather has been dark, raining and today it was snowing.

Every day has the car complained of sensors/cameras not working due to dirt in front of the sensors. It doesn't matter if I clean them before I head out, it takes a couple of kilometers before they are warning again. They do add salt a lot on the roads to prevent ice, which makes it very dirty on the roads here.

Today, when there was snow. It warned again, same this time, a lot of dirt due to slush. And it was also black ice, which was really hard to spot myself (looks like dry road).

So to my question; How would the Tesla (or any other autopilot enabled vehicle) work on autopilot in these cases?

I mean, if the on-board computer doesn't get good input, it must be very hard to take decisions?

3 comments

[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 15.7 ms ] thread
necovek
How do humans operate in those conditions? Reducing speed and watching carefully: if anything, sensors need to move to a position where they are better shielded, eg. some can go behind a windshield, exactly where human eyes sit.

Or they could be in a better self-cleaning container (a la windshield wipers and xenon headlights).

nergal
True, but is this working today? Or will the autopilot not be able to be used while driving in these conditions? Hence, it's basically requires perfect conditions?
Piskvorrr
Sssh, don't provoke the technooptimists. You'll be branded a Luddite for being doubleplusungood to their favorite toy, which is Obviously And Self-Evidently Level 5 Autonomous La La La I Can't Hear Your Bug Reports. /s

In other words, yes, current "autonomous driving" is actually "smarter autopilot for perfect weather." Wonder why they're all testing in US states that rarely see snow or rain...probably just a coincidence.