How to Tame the “Wild Horse” Automatic Driving? - Part 4

Localization is how to figure out our position in the world, which is the next step after we understand the world. We all have mobile phones with GPS, so it seems that we already know where we are. But in fact, GPS is only accurate to within 1 to 2 meters. Just think about how big 1-2 meters are! If a car goes wrong for one to two meters, it may hit something on the sidewalk. Therefore, we need more complex mathematical algorithms to help the vehicle localize to within 1 ~ 2 cm.

The next step is path planning. Once we know what the world looks like and where we are, in the path planning stage, we can draw the trajectory through the world to reach the place we want to go. First, we predict what other vehicles around us will do. Then we decide which strategy to adopt to deal with these vehicles. Finally, we construct a trajectory or path to perform the operation safely and comfortably, that is, the algorithm.

Control is the last step in the automatic driving cycle. After deciding on the path planning trajectory, the needs to turn the steering wheel, accelerator and brake under the program control to realize automatic driving and reach its destination.