Wayve says self-driving cars don't need sensors. Experts aren't so sure.

Why weigh down a self-driving car with a lot of sensors, HD maps, and equipment when you don’t have to?

That's the philosophy of British startup Wayve. It claims it only needs a camera, GPS tracker, and a powerful computer to be able to drive anywhere autonomously. 

But experts who specialize in sensing technologies like light-based LiDAR and radar say the idea mostly comes across as preposterous — or the very least, short-sighted. 

Most self-driving cars decide how to drive down a street as it happens — picking up information about debris in the way, pedestrians on the sidewalk, the sun starting to set in the distance. Wayve doesn’t try to interpret that much data since it can’t really pick up much from its cameras. Instead it relies on training data already plugged into the system and information from past driving experiences, along with any “reinforcement” data, which is any information about the street from the human driver.  Read more...