Apple autonomous car spotted with new sensors, possibly all-camera, no LiDAR
Apple’s self-driving cars have so far used a mix of sensors, which the company has said includes LiDAR, radar, and cameras. LiDAR is similar to radar but uses laser pulses. A lot of autonomous cars have used LiDAR as their primary means of reading the road, as it provides the on-board computers with a highly-detailed 3D map of the car’s surroundings. This provides centimeter resolution over distances of up to 100 meters. Google cars can detect a cyclist hand signal, and it’s been reported that Waymo’s cars can even tell which direction pedestrians are facing so that their likely movements can be predicted.