What are the features in Google’s self driving car?

What are the features in Google’s self driving car?

The Google self-driving car has driven more than 1.5 million miles and is still currently out on the streets of Mountain View, California, in Austin, Texas, in Kirkland, Washington, and in Metro Phoenix, Arizona. Their testing armada includes both modified Lexus SUVs and new prototype vehicles that were designed from the ground up to be fully self-driving. Currently, there are safety drivers onboard all vehicles.

The Google self-driving car has built-in sensors. The car uses the sensors and software to sense objects such as vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and more. It is designed to safely drive around them. Just like any normal driver, the Google self-driving car needs to constantly answer these questions:

• * Where am I? – The car processes both map and sensor information to verify where it is in the world or its exact location. The car can identify which lane it is in and what street it is on.
• * What’s around me? – The built-in sensors help in detecting objects all around it. The software categorizes objects according to its shape, size, and movement pattern. It senses a pedestrian and a cyclist in this case.
• * What will happen next? – The software foresees what all the objects around it will do next. It foresees that the pedestrian will cross the street and the cyclist will ride by.
• * What should I do? – The software selects a safe speed and course for the car. The car slows down to give way to the pedestrian and nudges away from the cyclist.