A Clear Winter View for Sensors in Autonomous Vehicles
Autonomous vehicles rely on advanced sensory technology such as Radar, LiDAR and various cameras to safely travel roadways. Unfortunately, winter driving conditions including: snow, grime, salt and ice can obscure the various sensors efficacy and impede the autonomous vehicles ability to safely navigate and identify objects on the roadway.
While there have been clear improvements in such technologies over time, there are still very real concerns regarding the limitations of the sensors in winter driving conditions. For example, in blowing snow or white-out conditions, there is a risk that the sensors and camera equipment become entirely covered, thus posing a potential risk to road safety. This is because the equipment does not potentially have a clear field of view. Even in less severe winter conditions, snow, ice, grime and salt may similarly act to obscure the sensors that autonomous vehicles rely on to provide positional awareness.
This phenomenon where sensors become obscured can potentially pose a safety hazard, which can endanger vehicle occupants, as well as other vehicles and pedestrians sharing the road.
Podium Automotive has developed the Winter Precipitation Sensor (WPS) specifically to address this concern. This sensor technology can facilitate LiDAR, Radar and cameras by working simultaneously to detect and remove frozen winter precipitation that may be obscuring the existing sensors field of view and efficacy. The WPS instantly detects the very commencement and presence of frozen precipitation build up on a given surface and the instant it has been removed. When outfitted to the housings of existing sensors, the WPS can ensure that the sensitive equipment is free of obstruction by effectively controlling the activation/de-activation of deicing systems. In short, the WPS facilitates maximum efficacy of vehicle sensors in all winter driving conditions, enhancing road safety for all.
Podium Automotive is currently reaching out to Tier 1 suppliers and looks forward integrating this technology into Autonomous vehicles.
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