How Autonomous Vehicles Work

HOW AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WORK
THE REQUIRED TECHNOLOGY


RADAR
Traditional RADAR sensors are used to detect dangerous objects in the vehicle’s path that are more
than 100 meters away.

OPTICS
Video cameras are used to identify road markings and traffic signals.

LIDAR
Laser RADAR scans the car’s surroundings in a 100 meter radius, letting the car know what objects to avoid.

GPS
A global positioning system keeps the car on its intended route with an accuracy of 30 centimeters.

PROCESSORS
Some 7 dual-core 2.13 GHz processors and 2Gb of RAM are needed to make sense of the data collected by the car’s instruments. Some cars run as many as 17 processors to disperse the computing load.


HOW LIDAR WORKS
1. The emitter sends out a laser beam.

2. The laser bean bounces off a mirror that is rotating along with the cylindrical housing, at 10 revolutions per
second.

3. After bouncing off objects the laser light returns to the mirror and is bounced back downward.

4. The light is focused onto a receiver where it can be interpreted into data.

5. The car can then generate a map of its surroundings and use the map to avoid objects.



HUMAN VS. COMPUTER
DISTANCE REQUIRED TO STOP

Legend
Reaction
Deceleration

A human takes about 2 seconds to react and press the brakes!

l0mph - 27ft
30mph ------- 109ft
60mph --------------304ft
90mph---------------------------584ft

A computer takes about .3 seconds to compute and apply the brakes.

10mph - 18ft
30mph -------- 53ft
60mph --------------1924ft
90mph---------------------------416ft

HARDWARE COMPARISON

The human eye sees details equivalent to
576 Megapixels

The finest digital camera sensors today are around
50 Megapixels

All the microchips on Earth combined execute about
6.4 x 10 -18 calculations every second

That’s roughly equal to one human brain


TIME TO PREPARE

There have been a myriad of predictions as to when we will see the first autonomous vehicles on our roads.

GENERAL MOTORS - 2018
U.S. DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION - 2020
SEBESTIEN THRUN STANFORD - 2030
FORESIGHT - 2056
ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING - 2019
VOLVO - 2020
DENNIS BUSHNELL - 2020
FREE UNIVERSITY BERLIN - 2040

2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 HOW AUTONOMOUS UEHICLES WORK THE REQUIRED TECHNOLOGY RADAR OPTICS LIDAR GPS Laser RADAR scans the car's surroundings in a 100 meter radius, Traditional RADAR sensors are used to detect dangerous objects in the vehicle's path that are more than 100 meters away. Video cameras are used to identify road markings and traffic signals. A global positioning system keeps the car on its intended route with an accuracy of 30 centimeters. letting the car know what objects to avoid. PROCESSORS Some 7 dual-core 2.13 GHz processors and 2Gb of RAM are needed to make sense of the data collected by the car's instruments. Some cars run as many as 17 processors to disperse the computing load. HOW LIDAR WORKS 2 The laser bean 3, After bouncing off objects the laser light returns to the mirror and is bounced back bounces off a mirror that is rotating, along with the cylindrical housing, at 10 revolutions per second. downward. The emitter sends out a laser beam. 4The light is focused onto a receiver where it can be interpreted into data. 5. The car can then generate a map of its surroundings and use the map to avoid objects. HUMAN US. COMPUTER DISTANCE REQUIRED TO STOP - Legend. Reaction A human takes about 2 seconds to react and press the brakes. Deceleration 100t 200t 300ft 400ft 500ft 600ft 10mph | 27tt 30mph 109ft 60mph 304t 90mph 584tt A computer takes about .3 seconds to compute and apply the brakes. 10mph 8ft 30mph 53ft 60mph 192t 90mph | 416ft HARDWARE COMPARISON The human eye sees details equivalent to 576 Megapixels All the microchips on Earth combined execute about 18 6.4 x 10 calculations every second The finest digital camera sensors today are around 50 Megapixels That's roughly equal to one human brain TIME TO PREPARE There have been a myriad of predictions as to when we will see the first autonomous vehicles on our roads. GENERAL U.S. DEPT. OF SEBASTIEN THRUN FORESIGHT MOTORS TRANSPORTATION STANFORD UK 2018 2020 2030 2056 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 ROYAL ACADEMY DENNIS BUSHNELL FREE UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING 2019 VOLVO NASA BERLIN 2020 2020 2040 Sources: arachnoid.com/lutusp/auto.html csgnetwork.com/stopdistinfo.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driverless_car news.deviantart.com/article/27174/ positivefuturist.com/archive/198.html technologyreview.com/Infotech/18908/ nopularmechanics.com/science/4272589 wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/world-computer-data/ news.discovery.com/tech/driverless-cars-could-save-lives.html books.google.com/books?id=igFxpngN1sC&pg=PA266&lpg=PA266 fastcompany.com/1758931/volvo-explains-why-road-trains-are-the-future auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/trends-innovations/driverless-caró.htm slashdot.org/story/08/01/08/210246/GM-Says-Driverless-Cars-Will-Be-Ready-By-2018 spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/artificial-intelligence/volkswagen-temporary-auto-pilot-makes-your-car-almost-but-not-quite-a-robot volkswagen-media-services.com/medias_publish/ms/content/en/pressemitteilungen/2005/06/20/successful_premiere.standard.gid-oeffentlichkeit.html