AI and Deep Learning: The Eyes and Brain of Self-Driving Cars
Artificial Intelligence, specifically deep learning, is the core technology enabling autonomous vehicles to "see" and "understand" their environment. Neural networks are trained on millions of hours of video and sensor data to identify objects like pedestrians, cars, and traffic signs with superhuman accuracy in real-time. This AI is constantly refined with data from test fleets, learning to handle increasingly complex and ambiguous situations on the road.
FAQ:
Q: How does the AI handle bad weather?
A: It's a major challenge. Heavy rain or snow can obscure cameras and LiDAR. This is where sensor fusion is critical—if one sensor fails, others (like radar) can provide data. The AI must be trained to make sense of this noisy, incomplete data.
Q: Who "trains" these AI models?
A: Teams of data scientists and machine learning engineers at automakers and tech suppliers (like Waymo, NVIDIA, and Mobileye) who curate datasets and develop the algorithms.
