You can't draw any real conclusions from these numbers without knowing what they were actually trying to accomplish.
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Apple Reports Self-Driving Car Disengagements to DMV, Earns Worst Rank
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That Apple has been researching self-driving systems for cars is not just a confirmed rumour, it’s confirmed; as this report shows.
What the data also appear to show is that Apple are far behind the competition at this point. Even the leaders are probably years away from market. Can Apple improve and bridge this seemingly impassable chasm?
It’s relevant to know for anyone interested in where Apple is spending its R&D, though of course we don’t know how much they’re dedicating to the car product.
I’d be seriously questioning continuing the research at this point. Apple usually likes to drop in as a late-comer with improvements anyway.
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I agree it’s difficult to interpret much. One would think or hope however that DMV has at least some standards in what is reported such that the data are somewhat comparable. Otherwise there’s no point in reporting. But then I know how bad government agencies can be with information. I just think it’s a sensitive enough topic that they’ll be putting at least a decent effort into monitoring and evaluating this area.
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And it will be 50% thinner. You won't be able to sit in it, but Apple knows that the people want slimmer cars! So beautifully designed...
I doubt it. If you delve into the details, you will note that the industry reported a total of 73,000 disengagements in California in 2018. Of these, Apple reported 69,000 of them. It sounds like Apples and oranges.
Is that what Apple will put as the tagline for their self-driving car?
In the world of business, if you're spending money on R&D and this is how bad you are... time to invest your money elsewhere.
Agreed. To add, Google and FB own the largest pool of data, either voluntarily or otherwise acquired.
"Shadow mode". I'd like to see a statistic on how many shadow-people they have shadow-killed.
Hey Apple ,
How about getting Siri to work where it is usable first, instead of the current stinking TURD.
Then re wright iTunes and take it from a pile of Sh to a usable intuitive program.
After you get these 2 right first, then look into the Car thing.
How about getting Siri to work where it is usable first, instead of the current stinking TURD.
Then re wright iTunes and take it from a pile of Sh to a usable intuitive program.
After you get these 2 right first, then look into the Car thing.
Nvidia is Tesla and Audi in this case so I'm not too surprised by that actually. Especially the Audi part as they have the first level 3 autonomous car in the world that is run by Nvidia.
Apple Car OS update 3.5.2: This update addresses an issue where the windshield wipers might engage instead of the brakes in certain close encounter situations. It is recommended for all Apple Car users.
Seriously, I can't help but think this push by Apple and others for self-driving cars is kind of ridiculous.
Seriously, I can't help but think this push by Apple and others for self-driving cars is kind of ridiculous.
WOW!! Apple sucks at autonomous cars almost as much as they suck at computers.
Apple has been testing Lexus SUVs equipped with its autonomous driving software out on the roads around Cupertino since April 2017, and for the first time, the company has filed a disengagement report with the DMV.
A disengagement report tracks the number of times an autonomous vehicle disengages and gives control back to a safety driver or the number of times the safety driver in the vehicle interferes. All of Apple's self-driving SUVs have safety drivers able to take over in the event of an emergency.
The DMV will be publishing the full reports later this week, but they appeared briefly on the website and The Last Driver License Holder was able to get a brief look at some of the data. The information covers the period from December 2017 to November 2018 for all companies operating self-driving vehicles in California, including Apple.
According to the data, Apple registered 871.65 disengagements per 1000 miles, with a disengagement approximately every 1.1 mile. For comparison's sake, Waymo, Google's autonomous vehicle arm, had 0.09 disengagements per 1000 miles with 11,154.3 miles per disengagement.
Image via The Last Driver License Holder
Apple's total number of disengagements was higher than any other company doing autonomous vehicle testing, suggesting Apple drivers need to take over for the self-driving vehicle more frequently than other companies as it works out kinks in the software. This could be because Apple is driving more challenging routes, Apple drivers are abundantly cautious, or it could be because its self-driving software is less evolved.
There are likely multiple factors at play when it comes to Apple's performance, and it's worth noting that Apple has not been testing self-driving vehicles for as long as other companies.
Disengagements are self-reported numbers and companies are able to take some liberties with how this data is reported and just what counts as a disengagement, so the data should be viewed with that in mind.
According to the data, Apple has 62 self-driving vehicles out on the road, though earlier reports have suggested that number is a little low. As of November, Apple reportedly had 72 vehicles on the road.
Image via The Last Driver License Holder
Apple's self-driving vehicles were involved in two minor collisions in 2018, one in August and one in October, though neither collision was Apple's fault. In the August collision, the vehicle was in self-driving mode, while in the October collision, it was in manual mode.
More detail on Apple's self-driving car performance will be available later this week when the full reports are released.
Article Link: Apple Reports Self-Driving Car Disengagements to DMV, Earns Worst Rank
But that argument "to drive yourself" was lost years ago. The smart car mantra is that smart cars are better drivers than humans. At some point you won't be given a choice. Remember, when it happens, the "lack of choice" is to protect the children and relieve human drivers of any responsibility whatsoever. Who doesn't what that? Certainly not anyone that is too young to have used manual transmissions. Especially when the youngster can snapchat, reddit, Facebook, etc. while driving. It's so yesterday to have to put your device down when driving.
Of course once drivers don't have choice about driving, then, if the destination is deemed undesirable, they won't have a choice about the car going there. The computer will simply refuse. Which again will protect the children and others that don't make good moral politically correct decisions. Our future is so rosy.
There is a huge problem with "Shadow mode".
If I drive normally everyday and then one day I drive abnormally, there is no way for Tesla to know why.
I could be angry, I could be sad, there could be oil on the street, there could be snow, there could be cyclist on the street, etc.
If some human does not go through the whole data of abnormal driving there is no way for that data to be useful.
Even if I drive every day normally as do most of other people, there still could be some not regular driving in that data, human must again go through all that data.
So basically what I am saying, if all the parameters are not the same, then "shadow mode" is kinda useless without humans going over it and I am personally very skeptical that human from Tesla went over all billions of miles of "Shadow mode"!
Yes, it is a nice statistic to brag about, but i would not put any merit into it.
But is it disengaging more often than the others because it's actually worse? Or because Apple's being more cautious and doesn't want to kill people like that poor women in Arizona? (Some of their competitors really don't seem to give a crap about the safety of other road users.)
Great car. Love mine. Best car I've ever owned. I think you're forced to say that once you pay for it but I'm still smiling every time I get in it.
It's sad but I think Apple has fallen behind and without a visionary type to guide, we're just getting crappy reactionary things mostly (AirPods notwithstanding). Weird that the software quality slipped so hard though.
There also could be one more thing, due to Apple being as secret as possible, at least trying to be usually, then they could be registering every disengagement to obscure the public data.
Other companies are inflating the stats, especially start-ups.