Due to the fact that self-driving cars rely on things like cameras and sensors to navigate, obviously driving about on a clear sunny day would provide the most ideal conditions. However, that isn’t always reality as the weather can shift, where it can get cloudy, it can snow, and it can rain, all of which presents challenges to the abilities of self-driving cars.This is why testing is important, and that is also why Waymo has announced that they will now start to test their self-driving cars in Florida during the state’s rainy season. According to Waymo, the tests will be done to see how well their sensors and technology overall holds up in the weather.
This includes sensors like the lidar and radar, and also its cameras. “Heavy rain can create a lot of noise for our sensors. Wet roads also may result in other road users behaving differently. Testing allows us to understand the unique driving conditions, and get a better handle on how rain affects our own vehicle movements, too.”
The cars will still feature a human driver behind the wheel in case anything goes wrong. We reckon that it will probably still be a while before fully autonomous vehicles become the mainstay and are approved for consumers, but there is no doubt that all these tests and fine tuning will ultimately lead to that being a reality.
Filed in . Read more about Self-Driving Cars and Waymo. Source: medium