
This military tech could finally help self driving cars master snow - okket
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/08/how-self-driving-cars-could-use-mine-detecting-tech-to-see-the-road/
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takk309
From the article, "Yes, this requires pre-mapping, but so does lidar. And
WaveSense says that remapping should be far less frequent as conditions under
the road are less subject to change than they are above ground."

I don't know that I agree with this statement given that this technology is
meant to operate specifically in cold weather climates. I live in Montana,
which is, of course, rather cold in the winter. We get frost heaving every
spring when temperatures begin to rise. Frost heaving is caused by the
formation of ice lenses in the soil below the road. Ice lenses form when water
is drawn via capillary action to the same level as frost depth. The water then
freezes. Frozen water acts like a solid and can them draw more water in via
further capillary action thus increasing the size of the lenses. The ground
penetrating radar will be able to see these lenses.

In an urban environment, this will likely be less of an issue. However, in a
rural setting where there is less built environment to reference, it may cause
some issues.

I am sure those working on this technology have though of these issues and
will be able to filter out the noise that subsurface water/ice will create. I
just feel it is disingenuous to think that the subsurface world is static.

Ultimately, more sensors using different detection methods will help to
improve the operation of autonomous vehicles.

Edit: added a few words to clarify a thought.

