Waymo's Robotaxis understand the often foggy conditions in San Francisco and the company develops a new solution to better understand weather conditions. Waymo develops a new metric that helps generate better estimates when it comes to the varying weather.
Autonomous vehicles are naturally at a disadvantage navigating through bad weather including heavy rain, fog, and snow as these variables can alter an AV's perception programs as it relies heavily on radar, lidar, and cameras to understand its surroundings. The Alphabet company creates its own fog map for the city with many data points collection to navigate through the streets in heavy fog. It also incorporation its visibility sensors that help aid the decision-making process of the automatic Waymo Driver.
Image Credit: Waymo
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Weather-specific Avs
- Developing weather-specific metrics and sensors for autonomous vehicles to navigate through inclement weather.
- Fog Mapping
- Creating detailed maps of cities with landmarks to facilitate navigation of autonomous vehicles in low-visibility conditions.
- Enhanced Perception
- Improving AV perception technologies to enable them to navigate through adverse weather conditions.
Where This Applies
- Autonomous Vehicles
- Developing improved AV technology to better navigate through adverse weather conditions.
- Mapping and Geolocation
- Creating detailed maps and improving location technologies for AVs to navigate through inclement weather.
- Sensor Technology
- Developing specialized weather sensor technologies that enable AVs to make accurate decisions in adverse weather conditions.
