Mexican Media Brands
Bad Weather, Seasonal Changes Can Baffle Robotic-Car Controls
Even the lightest of rain is enough to make self-driving cars begin to lose their senses, according to researchers at Michigan State University.
Share
Even the lightest of rain is enough to make self-driving cars begin to lose their senses, according to researchers at Michigan State University.
The issue isn’t the sensors themselves, says Hayder Radha, the professor of electrical and computer engineering who headed the study. He tells Automotive News the problem is with the software algorithms that sort out the raw sensor data.
Even a few drops of rain can confuse the system, he says. The MSU researchers found that a light sprinkle can make an algorithm fail to detect 20% of the objects it can “see” in clear weather. The ratio doubles in moderate rain.
Autonomous-driving systems also can be disoriented when roadway landmarks such as large trees or shrubs lose their leaves in winter, according to the study.
Radha initially figured that developers would be able to cure such problems quickly as testing ramps up in regions with four-season conditions. But he tells AN he now believes that teaching robotic cars to drive in challenging weather will “be a problem for many years to come.”
RELATED CONTENT
-
Jeeps Modified for Moab
On Easter morning in Moab, Utah, when the population of that exceedingly-hard-to-get-to town in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth has more than doubled, some people won’t be hunting for Easter eggs, but will be trying to get a good look at one of the vehicles six that Jeep has prepared for real-life, fast-feedback from the assembled at the annual Easter Jeep Safari.
-
Choosing the Right Fasteners for Automotive
PennEngineering makes hundreds of different fasteners for the automotive industry with standard and custom products as well as automated assembly solutions. Discover how they’re used and how to select the right one. (Sponsored Content)
-
On Fuel Cells, Battery Enclosures, and Lucid Air
A skateboard for fuel cells, building a better battery enclosure, what ADAS does, a big engine for boats, the curious case of lean production, what drivers think, and why Lucid is remarkable
