Autonomous driving refers to a car that can automatically drive to its destination based on its own perception and understanding of the surrounding environment, with the driving level even comparable to that of a human driver. What are the main components of an autonomous driving car?
Firstly, in terms of perception and recognition, to achieve autonomous driving, the car needs to be able to recognize the surrounding environment and avoid obstacles on its own, which requires the use of recognition technology, similar to human eyes. The “eyes” of an autonomous driving car are sensors. To ensure the car’s understanding and grasp of the environment, the autonomous driving system needs to collect and obtain a large amount of information on the surrounding environment. Information is obtained through the fusion of 3D optical LiDAR, high-resolution cameras, and millimeter-wave radar and other sensors. A car may have more than 10 sensors, including cameras that can distinguish between red and green lights, and LiDAR that can create a 3D map of surrounding obstacles for obstacle detection and recognition.
Secondly, decision-making and planning technology are required. After using its “eyes” to recognize the surrounding environment, the car needs to analyze this information and make decisions on the next steps, just like an experienced driver who needs to accumulate experience by driving more. The autonomous driving system also needs to learn. Through pre-written rules and strict compliance with them when making decisions, for example, when deciding to overtake from the left, certain conditions must be met.
The third aspect is the execution system and control, which is the bottom-level control system responsible for carrying out the real operations of braking, accelerating, and steering the car.
By now, I believe everyone knows that the most important component of an autonomous driving car is its “eyes”. As mentioned earlier, the autonomous driving system requires at least 10 or more sensors. But does having more sensors necessarily mean better performance? I will explain this in more detail next time. If you want to know more related information, please stay tuned!