How Self Driving Cars Work

Annually, over one million people lose their lives to road carnages. Although the government tries to curb the situation, the number of car accident related deaths are reduced only by a small margin. Due to this, methods to handle road accidents and traffic jams have been a trending discussion for quite a long duration of time. Among the ideas presented to curb this, traffic lights and other inventions have been introduced in the transport sector. However, the idea that seems to be most efficient is the automation of vehicles. Since a few years, technology has been applied to cars to aid them in different tasks. Among these tasks are; car parking, acceleration and even observing distance between cars. Most recently, talks about autonomous vehicles (also called self-driving vehicles and driverless vehicles) got into the market and seem to be welcomed by many. What is a driverless vehicle? A driverless vehicle is one that can operate to predetermined destinations free of a human driver. This is possible as the car is fitted with coordinate sensors and software that controls its navigation. With this in place, vehicles may be able to operate under no or minimal human involvement similar to autopilot in aeroplanes. With the introduction of this technology, traffic jams are expected to be reduced significantly and fewer car accidents will be seen. However, with immature levels of technology in early years, the idea proved to be an expensive endeavour, and thus little progress was evidenced. As years passed by, several car manufacturers showed interest in this idea leading to some manufacturers even producing precursors. Although the concept is still under construction, it is evident that it will revolutionize the transportation sector majorly. How do self-driving cars work? To efficiently navigate, a self-driving car needs to be well conversant with what’s happening in its surroundings and the geological appearance of the general area. This enables the car to make optimum decisions on deciding which route is best to take and also to avoid it from running into obstacles. To achieve this, driverless vehicles are integrated with GPS mapping, sensor lasers, a windscreen camera and advanced control systems for interpretation of information from the sensors. The data so obtained is incorporated into the car’s map through a simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm thus creating a clear picture of its surroundings. The windscreen camera and the bumper mounted radar keep track of pedestrians, motorists, street lights, road signs, traffic lights and other vehicles around the car. These are also fed into the vehicle’s mapping system ensuring that the car follows traffic rules and allows pedestrians to cross. For more accurate results a driverless car is fitted with gyroscopes, altimeters and a tachometer. Additionally, it is equipped with an odometer and computer vision that helps to decode the information in a manner that the vehicles inbuilt software can interpret. For better projection of what are in its surroundings, the car uses newer range Lidar (light detection and range) sensors as they provide a more precise image compared to GPS. To ensure that the vehicle is operated similarly to that by a professional driver, the software is programmed with neural networks that represent real driving experiences. This allows the car to take the best course of action in different situations. These neurons also enable the vehicle to decipher approaching bodies thus ensuring it responds accordingly to avoid incidents. Classification of self-driving vehicles With driverless vehicles being designed, there are different levels of automation as classified by SAE international. This ranges from a “hands-on” driving experience to a “driver-free” mode of driving. In each of these levels,...
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