Self-driving cars have long been the holy grail of automated driving. The technology is getting more and more advanced, with several car companies working on their own autonomous vehicle platforms. Companies are racing to produce affordable, reliable, and safer self-driving cars that can be used on a global scale.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in automating driving, enabling fully self-driving cars and helping vehicles detect objects, pedestrians, vehicles, and road conditions. Self-driving cars have the potential to save lives on the road; however, they are still not as safe as we would like to believe.
Accidents happen when human error or bad luck outweighs good design and engineering practices. In order to keep everyone safe while traveling in autonomous vehicles, we humans need to work even harder to make sure our technology is as good as it can be.
Vision and Data
AI has been used to create visual APIs (Application Programmers) that can access data from sensors in a vehicle and create visualizations for the driver. These visualizations can help the driver understand the vehicle’s surroundings and help avoid potential dangers.
For example, a sensor in a self-driving car can detect objects and then show the relevant data and images to the driver to make it easier to react to potential threats. AI has also been used to “read” the driver’s intentions by analyzing facial expressions in order to understand their emotions and actions.
AI and Self-Driving Cars
In order to make autonomous driving a reality, we humans have to be more conscious of the risks involved with not only the technology itself, but also the way it’s being implemented in the car. AI can help to reduce these risks by monitoring the driver’s behavior and deciding whether or not to follow instructions.
Most AI-enhanced cars have a “back-up” camera that takes pictures whenever the main camera is looking in another direction. This way, the AI system can keep an eye on the road without having to take over the driving duties.
How AI Helps in Self-Driving Car Development
In order to make self-driving cars a reality, we humans must first make sure the vehicles are safe to drive. After that, AI can help to improve the safety of the roadways by reading the driving behavior of both humans and cars. A vehicle’s AI can help to identify what actions, if any, the driver is trying to avoid.
Key Takeaways
AI has a lot of potential to help in the development of self-driving cars. With sensors that are capable of collecting high-quality data, AI can enable cars to drive themselves by monitoring driver behavior and making decisions based on those actions.
With vision and data-driven AI, self-driving cars can help to reduce the risks that passengers and other drivers face. Finally, these AI-enhanced cars can even help to avoid accidents and save lives on the road.