[TaylorAlexander]

You’re right about Elon but I’ve thought about it and it’s flawed reasoning. Humans don’t do it “with vision” we do it with five senses and the human brain. The computer is severely limited compared to the human brain, so in the context of things like LiDAR, the computer needs all the help it can get. And for rain sensing, the camera doesn’t see the windshield like a person does!

[schneems]

Alternatively: it’s a cost cutting measure and the “humans can do it with vision” is essentially a marketing spin.

[yareal]

Considerably more than five senses, actually. We rely on a huge variety of inputs beyond the basic ones when we drive.

[ASalazarMX]

Vision and hearing are the main senses we use to driving, and touch a distant third. Using taste, smell or proprioception means something is probably wrong with your vehicle.

[SkyPuncher]

Personally, proprioception ranks ahead of hearing for me.

Vision is first, but proprioception is how assess nearly everything else. Braking speed, acceleration, throttle input, cornering, traction, hydroplaning, tire pressure (even in specific tires), alignment issues (down to the specific wheel), balance issues, toe rod issues, transmission issues, engines issues, wind, payload, towing, etc, etc, etc.

I could probably tell you within 100lbs how much and roughly where payload is in the vehicle simply by feeling how the car is driving.

I literally cannot do racing game because I can’t sense the vehicle. Flip side, I used to think professional racers were crazy for being able to call in subtle issues to their crew chief. Turns out when you drive a specific car enough, you learn how it out to feel.

[SequoiaHope]

I thought about smell but actually vehicles do malfunction, and smell can be an important indicator. “Something is wrong with your vehicle” is a real scenario that actually happens pretty often.

[kranner]

I feel we must be using smell all the time to be able to detect when a burning odour begins to arise. It’s just that we’re not aware of it when nothing unusual happens.

[coffeebeqn]

If you’re not running AC you can certainly smell rain also

[mkl]

Driving without proprioception is probably almost impossible. That's how you know where your hands are, how the steering wheel is turned, where your feet are, how to move your hand to the indicator lever, etc.