“EXPERIMENTAL self-driving cars continue to make regular forays onto the roads. After a trial in Pittsburgh, Uber, a taxi-hailing-app company, launched several of its “autonomous” vehicles onto the streets of San Francisco on December 14th—and promptly ran into a row with officials for not obtaining an operating permit, which Uber insists is unnecessary as the vehicles have a backup driver to take over if something goes wrong. General Motors said it would begin testing self-driving cars in Michigan. For these and other trials one thing is essential: providing the vehicles with a reliable form of vision. As no man-made system can yet match a pair of human eyes and the image-processing power of a brain, compromises have to be made. This is why engineers use a belt-and-braces approach in equipping vehicles with sensors that can scan the road ahead. That way, just as your trousers will stay up if one or other of belt and braces fails, if one system misses a potential hazard, such as an oncoming car or a pedestrian, the others might spot it and direct the car to take evasive action. “
Related Content
Related Posts:
- NXP Expands S32 Platform with Motor Control Solution for Software-Defined Vehicle Edge Nodes
- Renesas Unveils Processor Roadmap for Next-Gen Automotive SoCs and MCUs
- BorgWarner to integrate STMicroelectronics’ Silicon-Carbide Technology in Viper Power Module for Volvo Cars’ Next-Generation Electric Vehicles
- NIO and NXP Collaborate on 4D Imaging Radar Deployment
- Efficient and high-performing vehicle architecture: Cooperation of Continental and Infineon
- STMicroelectronics’ automotive-qualified micro-power op amp endures harsh temperature and extended mission profile
- Renesas Delivers 10 New Winning Combinations That Include Both Automotive and Non-Automotive Products
- NXP Introduces High-Performance S32K39 Series MCUs for Modern Electrification Applications
- NXP OrangeBox Unifies Automotive Wireless Connectivity into a Single Domain Controller to Simplify Development and Security
- NXP Extends S32 Automotive Platform with S32Z and S32E Real-Time Processor Families for New Software-Defined Vehicles