The Autonocast: Why Simulation Matters to Autonomy

I joined The Autonocast to talk about why simulation is critical for autonomous vehicle development — and why you can’t just test your way to safety with real cars.

The Core Problem

There are infinite ways a self-driving car can encounter the world. Pedestrians, weather, construction, other drivers doing stupid things. You can’t possibly test all of them on real roads. The math doesn’t work.

So we build virtual worlds instead.

What We Covered

• Why physical testing alone will never be enough
• How to build simulations realistic enough to trust
• The difference between testing features and testing safety
• Where simulation breaks down and real-world testing is still necessary

The Big Takeaway

Simulation isn’t a shortcut — it’s the only way to achieve the coverage you need. But it only works if the simulation is good enough that passing virtual tests actually means something.

That’s the hard part.

🎧 Listen to the full episode →