Autonomous vehicle computing architecture
Figure 16.2 summarizes the hardware components and the processing stages in an autonomous driving system based on the current state of technology, as described in this chapter.
Figure 16.2: Components and processes of an autonomous driving system
We introduced sensor technologies that gather information about the state of the vehicle and its surroundings. This information flows into a Sensing process, which receives data from the sensors, validates that each sensor is performing properly, and prepares the data for perception. The process of Perceiving takes raw sensor data and extracts useful information from it, such as identifying objects in video images and determining their location and velocity. With an accurate understanding of the vehicle’s state and all relevant surrounding objects, the Deciding process performs high-level navigation functions, like selecting which route to take to the destination, as well as low...