Apple Self-Driving Technology: More Details Revealed

A paper submitted by Apple scientists reveal that the self-driving technology can detect cyclists and pedestrians using laser sensors through a new software called as VoxelNet. The new software developed by scientists help the computers to detect 3D objects.

Typically, a self-driving car relies on a combination of normal two-dimensional cameras and depth-sensing LiDAR to detect the obstacles around the vehicle. But the relayed information is of low-resolution which makes it difficult to spot small and far away objects.

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To detect small and far away objects, the LiDAR system should be connected to a normal camera in real time. But it will further complicate the car with excessive wiring and cameras all around the car.

But with the new VoxelNet technology, Apple researchers said that they were able to get highly encouraging results in detecting pedestrians and cyclists as compared to the LiDAR technology. The new software was also able to beat other approaches for identifying 3D objects.

But all the testing were done through simulation and not in real world. So, it is still not known whether the software will perform the similar way in real-world conditions. Apple is known for its innovative technology, and we can expect the VoxelNet to be right on the money when it undergoes road testing.

DriveSpark Thinks!

US tech giant Apple has been working on the self-driving technology for a very long time and now some details have been revealed. We expect the software to feature innovative technology similar to its smartphones. But the technology is in the development phase and nothing much can be said about the car.