No they will not, or at least it won't be the primary source for positioning.
They will use mapping data, and that is not a problem because the mapping data they have comes from their fleet of cars on the road which upload that data daily.
If any car encounters an incorrectly mapped route all cars will know it. And I expect you will not be able to create an autonomous route that a Tesla car has not already successfully traveled.
The problem of reporting issues to Google Maps is removed.
I’m highly skeptical of this. Local info will probably be used to refine things, but GPS and maps are still going to be the primary inputs driving things like “which exit do I take?”
Since you mentioned Tesla’s current systems, note that this is how they work now. Lane keeping is entirely local, but decisions about which lane to be in or which exit to take to reach your destination are done with your GPS position.
All I can say is watch the presentation. These systems don't work the way many people seem think they do, they are much MUCH more robust.
The op's assertion that autonomous vehicles rely "heavily" on GPS data is false. The problem he presents will not occur.
This won't happen because the computer does not use GPS to determine drivability and will not drive the car into underivable conditions, and the computer will have selected a drivable route to begin with because it can select from routes that have previously been driven. If a route that was previously drivable becomes underivable due to local conditions, the car simply re-routes.
Neither the apparent drivability of mapping data, nor position within that data as computed by GPS effect the car's ability to travel autonomously from point A to point B.
Watch a Tesla using Navigate on Autopilot today and see how it decides which lane it needs to be in and which exit to take.
It's certainly not reading signs. The system doesn't currently have that capability. It's a combination of GPS (to know where it is) and maps (to know how to go from where it is to the destination).
I 100% agree with you that the problems presented in the original comment wouldn't be an issue. The cars will use local data to determine whether a surface is drivable. They won't drive into sand or deep snow just because the navigation says that they should.
But that's not the same as your statement that they won't use GPS at all. And your statement that Tesla currently doesn't use GPS in their systems is plainly wrong.
You really do need to watch the presentation I linked. They go into excruciating detail on what data is used and how it is used.
I did not say Tesla's don't use GPS, they do. I said "It is unlikely that fully autonomous cars will use any GPS at all". My argument is not that you can't get google maps in your car, my argument is that the autonomous cars of the "Utopian future" will not need google maps to function, much less leave you stranded in an incorrectly mapped location.
They will use mapping data, and that is not a problem because the mapping data they have comes from their fleet of cars on the road which upload that data daily.
If any car encounters an incorrectly mapped route all cars will know it. And I expect you will not be able to create an autonomous route that a Tesla car has not already successfully traveled.
The problem of reporting issues to Google Maps is removed.