Self-driving in the snow: Five key steps

So, how does an autonomous vehicle successfully navigate snow-covered streets? I mean, such road surfaces cause vehicles to handle far differently compared to what’s experienced in “good weather” for starters. Also, visual reference points are – obviously – obscured to a high degree in wintry conditions.

What to do?

Well Ford Motor Co. thinks it has worked out a solution of sorts based on recent testing at Mcity (click here for more information on THAT interesting place) that relies on five key steps:

High-resolution 3D roadway maps created in good weather: To operate in snow, Ford said the Fusion Hybrid autonomous vehicles it tested first needed to create high-resolution 3D digital maps of the roadways with its four light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor system. By driving routes first in “ideal weather,” the self-driving systems are able to create highly accurate digital models of the road and surrounding infrastructure, the OEM said – mapped with sensors generating a total of 2.8 million laser points a second. The resulting map then serves as a “baseline” used to identify the car’s position when driving in autonomous mode, Ford said, so the car can locate itself within a “mapped” area even when roads are covered in snow.

GPS isn’t accurate enough: Ford noted current GPS systems are accurate to a little over more than 10 yards; good enough for human drivers, but not for the far more precise needs of autonomous vehicles. By scanning constantly for landmarks, then comparing that information to previously created 3D digital maps stored in their databanks, Ford said its autonomous vehicles can locate themselves to within a centimeter.