[edshiro]

> The first car from Lyft’s Level 5 self-driving initiative will be the Ford Fusion Hybrid. Lyft’s use of a Ford Fusion apparently isn’t associated with the partnership the two announced last year. Other AV companies have used the Ford Fusion as a platform for integrating self-driving technologies

Why are we still talking about Level 5 autonomous driving when we can't even get Level 4 working properly? I believe this is sending the wrong message.

On the topic of the acquisition, it seems like a good strategic buy for Lyft. I am still not sure whether they have the capital nor the talent pool to develop a strong autonomous vehicle product. It also seems like they are a bit late to the party, as there are more and more doubts on the reality of self-driving in the next few years.

I may sound sceptical, but I am just cautious when it comes to news on self-driving cars. However I am genuinely excited at this development and look forward to hearing more about how Lyft is progressing on this quest.

[GauntletWizard]

"Level 5" is the name they've given that division - as much a goal as anything. I doubt they'll launch at anything near true level 5 capability

[trhway]

>Why are we still talking about Level 5 autonomous driving when we can't even get Level 4 working properly? I believe this is sending the wrong message.

i think it is capability gap between tech companies and car companies. Car companies can't even get cameras around all the body to avoid accidental scratches during parking. Where is tech companies, while could easily do a lot of car tech, have no business case doing anything less than Level 5 - the Level 5 is a tech platform where is anything less is an advanced car, and the tech companies are in the platform business, not car business.

[alehul]

Uber and Tesla are dead last in self-driving tech, beaten by everyone from Hyundai to Baidu-BAIC. I don't know where you get the idea that "car companies can't even get cameras all around the body to avoid accidental scratches." The leaders of the industry are Daimler-Bosch, GM, Waymo, Volkswagen, Ford, Aptiv, and BMW-Intel-FCA. Mostly car companies.

[edshiro]

Traditional car companies are also working on autonomous vehicles.

There is a lot of business to be had with Level 4. While the car may not be able to go everywhere, in restricted areas a robot-taxi/shuttle service would be a great advancement. We would all love to be at Level 5 but I would take a solid Level 4 in a few years instead of waiting much much longer for a viable Level 5 solution.

[blattimwind]

> Car companies can't even get cameras around all the body to avoid accidental scratches during parking.

This has been a feature introduced by most car companies in the last ten or so years.

By the way, I don't think any Tesla car has this.