insider q&a: velodyne advocates for safer self-driving cars - long range distance sensor

DETROIT —Self-
According to CEO Elon Musk's vision, driving a Tesla electric vehicle could hit the road sometime next year, bringing financial success to his new company.
But critics say the idea is wrong, saying that without a laser beam from a lidar sensor to detect objects, Musk could not safely deploy autonomous vehicles.
Tesla's system relies on eight cameras.
Range sonar sensor and front-facing radar.
Musk detailed his system at an event in April, saying that lidar was expensive and unnecessary.
Tesla has developed a high level, he said.
High-speed computers and software that use data and artificial intelligence for secure navigation.
In his speech, he called lidar "stupid errands" and "damn stupid", mocking most other companies for developing automatic cars that use laser systems.
Marta Hall, president of San Jose, California
Based on radar speed generator Co. , Ltd.
It is the world's largest manufacturer of lidar, answering questions about Tesla systems and LIDAR capabilities.
Q & A has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: Elon Musk claims that the lidar is not needed, how do you respond to this: I don't think he knows what he's talking about.
He doesn't understand how lidar makes driving safer.
I don't think it's true autonomy when he talks about autonomy.
I think what he is talking about is some advanced features that are a bit cool, but they are not completely autonomous and completely safe as he described.
Because Elon had a loud voice, people listened to him, so he had room for maneuver.
But in this case, when he talks about lidar, he doesn't seem to know the science in the instrument, and he thinks it's dangerous to be able to drive the car independently as long as there is a camera and radar.
Q: What does lidar provide for cameras and radar: lidar is 3-
The camera and the radar are two-dimensional.
When the camera vision is poor, the lidar can be seen at night.
Most accidents happen at night.
Q: Musk says he has enough self. What's the danger?
Drive without LidarA: The customer will buy his car and they will take a nap in the car.
The camera appears inadequate because of optical illusion, just as the human eye can be fooled.
Lidar cannot be fooled in the same way.
Lidar can be seen in measurements.
So it sends out the beam, the beam comes back, and it actually measures the distance.
On the other hand, the camera must assume how far objects and other cars and all of these things are.
So if you want to avoid accidents, you 'd rather rely on assumptions, math, and measurements, and the LIDAR's eyes are better than the human eye.
Q: Musk may say you just want to sell your product.
More importantly, no other car company wants more accidents on the road.
When he promotes a core system, a cheap camera and radar system, to a fully autonomous system, he makes other systems look stupid.
To make matters worse, he is fooling customers who actually put themselves in danger.
It's shocking because Elon is a very visionary thinker, but when it comes to LiDAR, he's old. fashioned.
He's gone. He doesn't believe in 3D vision.
Q: Why didn't he use lidar thenA: the reason he insisted was because of the cost.
At least he makes sense because the camera and radar are cheaper than the lidar.
But the cost of lidar is falling, and with the mass production next year, the cost of the whole system will be quite or even lower compared to his system.
His system relies on the vast amount of computing power needed to process camera data.
Although lidar data is computer-friendly, camera data is not.
Understanding distance and trajectory requires a lot of processing.
So his method is to "swallow ".
Yes, I sell lidar, but I also care about public safety.
Q: costA: We sell one for $3,500.
Q: lidar is used by Waymo, GM Cruise, Ford's Argo AI, Intel and others.
It is necessary for other business units to accept lidar almost, you need to spare a long time
360 degrees from the sensor.
We also believe in layoffs.
Especially if you are fast.
We believe this is the safest system, a powerful lidar system, and a cheap camera system.
If you are driving on your own, we believe you need both.