How do self-driving cars work?
Waymo began as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009 and they started a buzz when it began testing prototypes on the streets of Mountain View, California in 2015. Elson Musk said that the electric car maker’s full self-driving feature will be completed by the end of 2019. In a recent study has shown that over 90% of road accidents are caused by human error. People have been excited about self-driving cars because they could cut this rate.
No human input…
A self driving car is one that is capable of operation without a driver. In the recent years, various self-driving technologies have been developed by Google, Uber, Tesla and other technology companies. So, how a car can drive itself? It works by using the combination of the existence of three things:
- There are many sensors attached to the car such as sensors for blind-spot monitoring, forward collision warning and so on.
- A computer in the car with AI software installed.
- A cloud server for making complex decisions.
The car needs to know where it is in the world…
For this, it uses an onboard GPS to figure out its location. The car also has internal sensors similar to speedometers and compresses. These sensors tell how fast the car is moving and in what direction.
It also needs to know what’s going on around it…
Once the car knows where it is in the world. It also needs to know what's going on around it, including other objects such as obstacles, lane markers and road signs. The car must first build a map of its environment and precisely localize itself within that map. This maps will help the car understand the primary features of the road like stop signs, lane markers and curbs. It use sensors such as laser rangefinders and cameras for map building.
- The cars use cameras to identify objects based on their color and shape.
- The laser rangefinders help the car figure out how far it is from other objects.
Make a driving strategy…
Based on its current speed and position, the car makes a large set of possible decisions, for changing lines, making a tun and so on.
The technology could change all of our lives. It is hoped that when all this technology installed in vehicles, will be able to prevent accidents in future. But before this technology is perfected and becomes available on the market, human error continues to play a large role in accidents involving vehicles.
Thanks for reading!
