GOOGLE

Our self-driving cars are designed to navigate safely through city streets.

They have sensors designed to detect objects as far as two football fields away in all directions, including pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles—or even fluttering plastic shopping bags and rogue birds. The software processes all the information to help the car safely navigate the road without getting tired or distracted.

The car processes both map and sensor information to determine where it is in the world. Our car knows what street it's on and which lane it's in. Sensors help detect objects all around us. The software classifies objects based on their size, shape and movement pattern. It detects a cyclist and a pedestrian in this case.The software predicts what all the objects around us might do next. It predicts that the cyclist will ride by and the pedestrian will cross the street. The software then chooses a safe speed and trajectory for the car. Our car nudges away from the cyclist, then slows down to yield to the pedestrian.