Self-driving cars still have major perception problems
A mock self-driving car deploys its sensors on the road. (the_lightwriter/Deposit Photos/)Yulong Cao is a PhD student in computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan. Z. Morley Mao is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. This story originally featured on The Conversation.Nothing is more important to an autonomous vehicle than sensing what’s happening around it. Like human drivers, autonomous vehicles need the ability to make instantaneous decisions.Today, most autonomous vehicles rely on multiple sensors to perceive the world. Most systems use a combination of cameras, radar sensors and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors. On board, computers fuse this data to create a comprehensive view of what’s happening around the car. Without this data, autonomous vehicles would have no hope of safely navigating the world. Cars that use multiple sensor systems both work better and are safer—each system can serve as...