Yes, it's expensive, however, as we refine algorithms, and the processing systems, it gets cheaper, especially amortized over more cars, where the per-car cost becomes affordable.
ML doesn't work well enough for offline maps generation either, and all the high quality maps require human editors for final touch.
All this work is currently done because realtime perception doesn't work well enough, and you can have a much more reliable system with the aid of the maps. Having a 3D base map of the world makes the realtime perception problem far simpler, and it makes fancy sensors less critical.
In the US, where the cost of labor is very expensive, self driving will make sense, even if it's expensive, but someplace like China or India, where a middle class person can afford a driver, it probably makes less sense, though the push for it in China is probably the strongest that I've seen anywhere in the world.
So you think self driving cars will be able to profitably offer a 10 mile ride for $20 in suburbia of second tier cities like Springfield MA? If your opinion is that cab drivers make much more than $10 an hour today then I suggest you look at things outside the bay area.
Self driving does not scale at all now. Because as you said these special maps need to a lot of human labor to make and the cars need a lot of sensors on top of the auto patform. Labor is not even the main cost driver in person transportation.
Yes, it's expensive, however, as we refine algorithms, and the processing systems, it gets cheaper, especially amortized over more cars, where the per-car cost becomes affordable.
ML doesn't work well enough for offline maps generation either, and all the high quality maps require human editors for final touch.
All this work is currently done because realtime perception doesn't work well enough, and you can have a much more reliable system with the aid of the maps. Having a 3D base map of the world makes the realtime perception problem far simpler, and it makes fancy sensors less critical.
In the US, where the cost of labor is very expensive, self driving will make sense, even if it's expensive, but someplace like China or India, where a middle class person can afford a driver, it probably makes less sense, though the push for it in China is probably the strongest that I've seen anywhere in the world.