Are autonomous vehicles really smart? Check out how a simple trick can fool them

In the field of autonomous vehicles, developers are often faced with what are known as “edge cases”—those unusual, unpredictable scenarios that can confuse even the most advanced driving algorithms. Recently, Waymo, a leading player in the autonomous vehicle industry, came across an interesting example of such a scenario, courtesy of Arizona-based eBike enthusiast and content creator Jason B. Carr.

Carr stumbled upon Waymo’s autonomous test vehicle maneuvering trick: wearing a simple T-shirt emblazoned with a stop sign graphic. This low-tech trick proved surprisingly effective in stopping the progress of Vemo’s Jaguar I-Pace vehicles during testing. Carr documented his experiments in a video, showing how the autonomous vehicle would stop when it encountered a temporary stop sign.

Initially, viewers speculated that the vehicle’s response may have mistaken the car for a pedestrian entering traffic rather than recognizing a stop sign. To test this hypothesis, the car repeated the experiment from the safety of the sidewalk, still achieving the same result—the autonomous vehicle stopped in response to its signal.

Further testing, including nighttime trials, revealed nuances in the vehicle’s behavior. While the I-Pace sometimes stopped when it detected a car’s stop sign t-shirt in the dark, it wasn’t consistently responsive. This discrepancy can be attributed to the lower visibility of the T-shirt compared to the real stop sign, raising questions about the vehicle’s ability to distinguish between real and simulated signals.

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Despite the humorous undertones of the car experiments, they underscore a critical aspect of autonomous vehicle development: the challenge of addressing edge cases. These unexpected scenarios, whether prompted by creative intervention or occurring organically, highlight the complexities involved in designing AI systems capable of navigating the myriad situations encountered on the road. While Waymo has yet to comment on the car’s findings, its experiments serve as a poignant reminder of the ongoing quest to refine autonomous technology and increase its adaptability to real-world situations.

Date of first publication: 06 May 2024, 7:11 PM IST