Autonomous driving is no longer a vision of the future. In the future, for example, autonomous vehicles might pick up a family from the airport upon instruction.
But how does autonomous driving actually work?
Autonomous vehicles are equipped with a number of sensors, cameras, and software and hardware systems. Furthermore, autonomous vehicles have a very detailed map of the area and compare the data they capture with the data from the map to identify their exact position.
In this way, the cameras recognise a red traffic light and autonomously realise when it turns green.
If the car comes close to a zebra crossing, the systems recognise the pedestrian standing at the roadside. The vehicle derives from the information about the zebra crossing and the pedestrian at the roadside that the pedestrian will cross the road and the vehicle can stop in time.
This does not only work downtown but also on rural roads or motorways. Here too, the vehicle captures its own lane, the surroundings and other vehicles through cameras, radar and laser scanners. The information is gathered on an on-board computer. The software connects the data. Thus, manoeuvres such as lane changes can be planned and performed safely.
The car-to-car communication makes it possible to exchange information between the vehicles. In case of a traffic jam, the cars that are stuck in the jam can send a signal to warn following traffic. Timely warnings help the following vehicles to slow down and rear-end collisions can be avoided.
In changing weather conditions, the various systems in the autonomous vehicle interact with each other so that small malfunctions or weaknesses can be compensated: Neither rain and snow nor darkness and low sun are a problem.
Various sensors and intelligent software do not only help the car to orientate, but also to safely reach its destination.