Featured LIDAR business practices

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by bwilson4web, Feb 4, 2026 at 2:04 AM.

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  1. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Not everything that should be avoided, has a contrasting temperature.
     
    #41 fuzzy1, Feb 8, 2026 at 8:49 PM
  2. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    My first radar equipped Prius was a 2017 Prime. On the delivery home, I drove on I-81 headed South of Wilkes-Barre:
    upload_2026-2-8_19-51-43.png
    When we ascended into the clouds, the local traffic did not slow down. So I briefly thought, "Cloud fog, no problem, I have radar." Then I realized I had no way to tell how far and precise the radar was. The same was true later with my Tesla.

    So I used the part number to find the angular resolution and distance of the radar model in my model year Tesla and realized I still did not know the actual alignment of my car's radar. It is invisible to human eye. Are their shops that measure radar "alignment?"

    Tesla dropped radar from the self driving stack in May 2021. Autopilot had been somewhat random in some driving situations like emergency braking from cars at joining side streets. The first release was 'exciting' but more consistent. The second update restored previous service but now, consistent.

    As explained, radar and optics would sometimes disagree. For example, radar is subject to "multipath" distortions and metal plates like expansion joints and road work. It was always a coin toss whether the camera or radar would dictate the AutoPilot response. By the 3d release, camera driven AutoPilot became more consistent and accurate. Radar was inducing or masking errors in the camera sensor inputs.

    Others are welcome to hail radar as good enough for their vehicles. Personal experience, it was not good enough for Tesla AutoPilot.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #42 bwilson4web, Feb 8, 2026 at 9:05 PM
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2026 at 3:00 AM
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    I no longer fly but notice GPS landing systems with electronic maps are very accurate and reliable. For example when I picked up my last airplane in 2012, someone had landed in virtually zero-zero conditions and that was my first exposure to it.

    GPS is more accurate now as are the electronic maps. I would have no problem with a GPS landing as it would be more automated and accurate than radar. Radar for rain detection makes sense but otherwise, I would have no use compared to today's GPS.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #43 bwilson4web, Feb 8, 2026 at 9:14 PM
  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Remember that GPS is not good enough to be a sole means of navigation.

    I've been watching GPS on board commercial flights for a while, when not specifically prohibited, it is a great way to identify and get oriented to landmarks and topography. In 2025, I found it jammed or spoofed on four separate flights. Within sight of Kalingrad, the GPS said the plane was moving backwards at about automotive highway speed. News reports indicated many on-going GPS anomalies in the Baltics region, impacting both aviation and marine vessels. Over Myanmar, both directions with a multi-GNSS receiver, it placed us way off track, and seemingly looping many times around a medium-sized traffic circle at 26 mph, and very curiously, each 'satellite signal' was exactly the same signal strength, which never happens on home territory.

    Various websites list or map numerous locations where GPS is known to get monkeywrenched. Certain state actors can do it nearly anywhere at any time.
    The radar dynamic cruise in my '24 Toyota has displayed no problems with expansion joints or road work, just a very few anomalies from vehicles in adjacent lanes in curves.

    I haven't seen anyone suggesting radar to be good enough to be a sole ADAS sensor type.
     
    #44 fuzzy1, Feb 8, 2026 at 11:49 PM
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2026 at 1:10 AM
  5. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Ukraine uses:
    • GPS
    • GLONASS
    • inertial navigation
    • optical pattern recognition
    • (undocumented!) Starlink - not just data
    Bob Wilson
     
    #45 bwilson4web, Feb 9, 2026 at 3:08 AM
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