ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the hardware elements that make fully autonomous driving possible, divided for simplicity into three main categories: sensors, the computing platform, and the actuator interface. Self-driving vehicle (SDV) sensors collect data and pass it on to a computing platform, which analyzes the data and determines what actions the vehicle should take next. Due to high general interest and growing research and development activities in the field of SDV technology, a number of technology companies have started to offer specially designed high performance computing platforms for SDV or other demanding applications. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) will undoubtedly continue to play an important role in SDV development for many years to come. GNSS is based on absolute positioning, which means it does not suffer from the accumulated error that affects inertial measurement units and odometry sensors over long periods of use.
