It’s not just fancy radars and LiDARs helping AVs figure out what to do, there’s older, more familiar technology at play here: GPS, cellular connectivity, and the Internet of Things (IoT). GPS, in particular, is at the core of the self-driving car, and a simpler version of it is used with services like Google Maps.
Navigation services can give you a general idea of how AVs use GPS. They triangulate your general location but also download more detailed, frequently updated maps and traffic information from the service provider’s cloud, which is sourced from other users on the road or third-party providers. These high-definition maps contain details such as road networks, lane configurations, traffic signals, and road signs.
While it’s still in its infancy, autonomous vehicles are being developed to communicate with other objects in the environment (frequently referred to as the Internet of Things). In these cases, the vehicle can connect with other vehicles (V2V) and roadside infrastructure (V2I) to share information and figure out what to do.
When more vehicles and infrastructure are built into the IoT network, autonomous cars will find it much easier to communicate with things around them and make better transportation and safety decisions.
