Low-Tech Trap to “Hack” Self-Driving Cars

Self-driving cars continue to rack up miles, can avoid and even anticipate accidents, and above all, they still have a lot to learn. The fact that their systems don't adapt perfectly to what the road presents is what worries authorities most, and the best we can do is keep testing their intelligence. Artist James Bridle decided to imagine a situation that would put self-driving cars in trouble, and his result is... a circle on the asphalt?

One of the biggest challenges for any self-driving car is interpreting traffic signs and parameters perfectly. This means absorbing rules that many human drivers don't know at all, and adapting to that lack of knowledge. Self-driving cars are forced to recognize multiple factors, and the stupid people who drive badly are at the top of the list. Still, you don't need much to confuse a self-driving car. There are still doubts regarding fog and rain, and some time ago, Tesla's Autopilot failed to recognize a lane reduction. What we have here today is actually the “artistic vision” of a self-driving car in a bind, but we can't deny that something like this could happen in the future.

What artist James Bridle did was draw two circles with salt on the asphalt. One circle is solid, while the other is not. If my reading of general traffic laws is correct, the self-driving car is effectively trapped. A spaced white line allows lane changes and overtaking vehicles when it is safe to do so, but the solid white line means “stay in your lane”.

The press has described Bridle's work as a kind of “magic circle”, however, I want to highlight the potential of such a trap. Someone could play a prank (or set the stage for a robbery) and stop cars at random. The other side of the coin presents authorities preventing fugitives from escaping, or limiting the entry of autonomous vehicles to certain zones.

Obviously, the car we see in the video is not autonomous, but Bridle considers his trap a work in progress, as he is integrating that technology into it. As for the artistic aspect... yes, he parked inside a circle. I won't say anything more.

Read the original article at Source.