News

Ford Test Autonomous Car in Snow

Autonomous cars have come a long way in recent times, with some even being considered safer than human drivers. But now Ford have decided to try out their autonomous car in snow, which can even cause trouble for experienced human drivers.

Ford’s self-driving car makes use of a technology they have termed “snowtonomy”, which integrates high definition maps to allow the car to fill in the gaps that its sensors cannot see due to the adverse weather.

The car employs the standard array of laser-imagine LIDAR sensors that it is equipped with in order to build the most accurate picture of the current location as possible. It then matches this 3D image against the stored maps in order to maintain the car’s position on the road. According to Ford, this system is accurate enough for the car to be able to stay in lane, even when road markings are obscured by snow.

The testing ground for this technology has been Mcity, an artificial city created by the University of Michigan, specifically for testing autonomous cars. This has allowed Ford to gain a lot of experience with self-driving cars in adverse conditions such as rain and snow.

Technologies like Ford’s “snowtonomy” really show that companies out there are bringing their self-driving systems to the next level. Driving in straight lines in perfect conditions is hardly a challenge for today’s self-driving technology, but for autonomous cars to truly displace the human driver, they will have to be able to adapt to all conditions, be it visibility impairing or a lack of grip.

Alexander Neil

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

Twitch Now Banning All Content Focusing On Intimate Body Parts

As by now, I'm sure you are aware Twitch has decided to go ahead and…

14 mins ago

Seconds Patch of “Operation Medic Bag” For Payday 3 Released

I doubt many of you have been keeping up with Payday 3 which is understandable…

2 hours ago

MSI Announces SPATIUM M580 FROZR With A Huge Cooler

Today MSI has announced a new Gen 5 SSD, the SPATIUM M580 FROZR which comes…

2 hours ago

LENRUE PC Speakers, USB/USB-C Powered Computer Speakers with Loud Stereo Sound

Stereo and Noiseless - Without any noise! After multiple debugging, suppress static. Become clearer and…

2 hours ago

HP M27f Ultraslim Monitor 27 Inch

PICTURE-PERFECT IMMERSION – Work or play on a monitor that redefines high definition with its…

3 hours ago

Govee LED Light Bars, Smart WiFi RGBIC TV Backlight

Syncs With Your Music: With an internal high-sensitivity mic, Govee Flow Plus LED light bars…

3 hours ago