What Are Autonomous Vehicles?
Autonomous vehicles, often called self-driving cars, are vehicles capable of sensing their environment and navigating without human input. They use a combination of sensors, cameras, radar, and artificial intelligence to make driving decisions.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) defines six levels of autonomy, from Level 0 (no automation) to Level 5 (full automation under all conditions). For example:
- Level 2: Partial automation, like Tesla's Autopilot, which handles steering and acceleration but requires driver supervision.
- Level 4: High automation, where the vehicle operates independently in specific environments, such as Waymo's robotaxis in urban areas.
These systems rely on algorithms to process data in real-time, ensuring safe navigation. Imagine a car detecting a pedestrian 50 meters ahead and automatically braking— that's autonomy in action.
Key components include:
- LIDAR for 3D mapping
- GPS for positioning
- Machine learning models for decision-making