New controversy in making? Tesla wants only cameras, AI to go fully autonomous

Tesla is serious about its autonomous driving goals and now the electric vehicle maker has shared that to achieve the full self-driving feat, it is going to bet entirely on cameras and artificial intelligence (AI), hence not opting for conventional tools such as laser detection.

Tesla Chief Elon Musk has conveyed the making of a system that will be built around eight ‘surround’ cameras that will feed data into the auto's ‘deep neutral network.’ How fruitful this will be is a matter of concern as it might give rise to another controversy for the EV major.

At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Luminar Technologies demonstrated two vehicles moving at a speed of 48 kmph towards a silhouette of a child. The car with the former's lidar which is a laser-based system stops in advance after detection of the hurdle whereas the rival vehicle, a Tesla careens into the mannequin, as per an AFP report.

Many automakers who are working to bring in the advanced autonomous driving system agree with Luminar and shared that they are focusing on technologies that combine cameras and systems such as lidars, radars based on radio waves or sometimes both. Though Tesla seems to be taking the road less travelled by ditching the self-driving technical norms. Musk method will be based on real-time readings collected by a camera that will feed the AI system comprising of data that Tesla sensors have collected through the years.

A Cornell University computer scientist Kilian Weinberger stated that for its autonomous driving goals, Tesla is betting on a lot of data collection through which they can train the algorithm. “Musk's view is that his system can be as good as an algorithm that actually uses all these expensive sensors that have a lot less data," added Weinberger.

Though auto companies have added a system to assist the user with braking, parking and other functions, achieving full self-driving has been proven difficult and now noting Tesla's move, many don't hesitate to express their scepticism. Jacques Aschenbroich, chief executive of French automotive supplier Valeo, which presented its latest lidar technology at CES said even plenty of data and cameras are not even to go fully autonomous.

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