
Ask HN: Tesla Autopilot in Snow/Rain? - nergal
I&#x27;ve been borrowing a Tesla Model S (w&#x2F;o autopilot enabled) for a couple of weeks and the weather has been dark, raining and today it was snowing.<p>Every day has the car complained of sensors&#x2F;cameras not working due to dirt in front of the sensors. It doesn&#x27;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.<p>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).<p>So to my question; How would the Tesla (or any other autopilot enabled vehicle) work on autopilot in these cases?<p>I mean, if the on-board computer doesn&#x27;t get good input, it must be very hard to take decisions?
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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).

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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?

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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.

