5 Astonishing Technologies That Power Google's Self-driving Cars




Automotive technology has moved on and it has not remained static. This certainly is an understatement and each year we come across new changes which might be redefining the way in which we drive our cars and the comfort level which we might experience. However, so far we needed somebody behind the wheels to drive the cars and negotiate it through traffic and also for the vehicle to speed along highways. However, all this might change very soon. This is because Google is at it hard. It is planning to come out with its famous self-driving cars, which is exciting news to say the least. When it hits the road soon, it will be a breakthrough of sorts and will redefine driving and take it to the next higher level. Hence it would be interesting to know more about it over the next few lines and have some basic idea about the various technologies that it comes with. Further it may also stop you from finding answers to the question which is your favorite car battery brand

1.      Laser Ranger Finder

The laser ranger finder also known as LIDAR is one of the most important and astonishing technology as far as Google’s self driving car is concerned. It comes with 64 laser beams and this helps it to create 3D images of various objects. This in turn helps the self-driving car to see hazards long away. The high intensity lasers are capable of calculating distance and then create images for objects which could be located some 200 meters away.

2.      Front Camera For Near Vision

The self driving car also has a unique camera that is mounted on the windshield. It is capable of helping the car to literally see objects which could be in front of it. The objects include other motorists and pedestrians. The camera has a wonderful technology which helps it so detect and then record information about traffic lights, road sings. The information is then put to use and interpreted intelligently with the help of inbuilt software.

3.      Bumper Mounted Radar

The car also features four radars that are mounted on the rear and front bumpers. These radars help in identifying and being aware of the vehicles which could be following it or could lie ahead of it. This radar technology is the same that is being used in adaptive cruise control system cars. The software has been programmed in such a way that it helps the car to maintain a distance of around two to four seconds when compared to the car ahead of it. Hence collision or crash can be almost ruled out.

4.      Aerial For Precise Geo Location

The car also has an aerial on the rear and it has been designed receive information about the exact location of the car. This is because the aerial is connected to GPS satellites and the internal navigation unit makes use of the sensors which help in locating the car. At times the GPS estimates may go wrong because of signal disturbances. To minimize errors, the GPS data is compared to the sensor map and the internal map of the vehicle and the updated information is used.

5.      Ultrasonic Sensor On Rear Wheels

The car also features an ultrasonic sensor and it is situated on the rear wheels. This could be extremely useful to keep a trace of the movement of the car and will be useful for alerting for any disturbance which might be there in the rear of the car. In fact quite a few cars of today used this reverse park assist technology.

Author Bio: I am Kate, Content Manager at Tech Rogers blog. Being an ardent Tech Lover, I write almost everything about Technologies ranging from Product reviews, Automobile News & Beginner tips for learning any new Technology. 


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