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.