The sensor-studded self-driving GM Cruise

GM had its Cruise autonomous vehicle on the show floor which is based on a modified Chevy Bolt. Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about the sensor module on the roof is that it carried five 360° spinning lidar sensors – interesting in that the trend in automotive lidar seems to be toward solid-state units with no moving parts. Also onboard are 16 cameras and 21 radar sensors for redundancy. The lidar is for sensing fixed and moving objects, and the radar adds info on objects with low light reflectivity. Lidar plus camera data get combined to classify and track objects and determine what they are quickly.
NEXT PAGE: World’s first autonomous vehicle