Is the winter weather getting in the way of your dreams of a self-driving car? Tech writer Daniel Reitberg says not for much longer. Significant progress has been made by researchers in creating self-driving cars that can safely navigate snow and ice. In the future, you could get in your self-driving car on a cold morning and be sure that it would get you where you need to go safely and quickly. This big step forward in technology depends on very advanced lidar sensors and very advanced machine learning techniques. A light detection and range system called Lidar is like the car’s eyes; it makes a full 3D map of its surroundings. At the same time, machine learning algorithms handle this data in real time, which lets the car understand its surroundings even when snow makes it hard to see.
This major step forward opens the door to a future where self-driving cars can be used all year, no matter the weather. But there are still problems. Things like blizzards and sudden whiteouts that are completely out of your control are still a problem. Making sure that these high-tech sensors work and last through hard winter conditions like very cold weather and road salt is also very important for making sure that they work reliably.
Even with these problems, the fact that self-driving cars can get around in the winter is a big step forward. As research continues and technology improves, we can get closer to a world where self-driving cars are a safe and reliable way to get around in all kinds of weather, giving people more freedom and mobility all year long.