CONNECTED VS. AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES To better comprehend how connected and autonomous devices are shaping our future, it’s important to understand what they are and what distinguishes them from one another. Connected vehicles are just that — they’re connected to systems outside of the vehicle, like the internet. These vehicles have the potential capability to share their collected sensor data with other connected vehicles, various DOTs, and even the omnipresent cloud of applications and services around the globe. Autonomous vehicles are still connected. However, they take the technology a step further by driving automatically at some level for the driver. S I X ALGORITHMS = BRAIN Sophisticated computer algorithms process the sensor data enabling the autonomous vehicle to understand its environment. Cutting-edge algorithms – like neural networks that emulate the brain – help process information, learn and classify objects. Some technologies, such as high-resolution 3D mapping, offer autonomous vehicles foundational knowledge similar to the brain’s memory. SENSORS = SENSES Radars, cameras and LiDAR act similarly to the senses of the human body to collect information 360 degrees around the vehicle. WIRING = NERVES Electrical signals move through the vehicle’s controls to connect the computer to the engine, brakes and steering system to operate the vehicle, much as the body’s nerves link the brain to muscles, hands and feet. ENGINE, BRAKES, STEERING = MUSCLES The engine, brakes, steering system: These comprise the muscles of the autonomous vehicle, creating movement just as in the human body. VEHICLE PLATFORM = BODY The chassis of the vehicle acts as the skeleton, offering support and structure. Infographic Source: Ford Motor Company. Imagine the autonomous vehicle as a human. How does technology mimic the most miraculous, complex creation of all time? As Ford looks to the future of transportation, the company is contemplating how it will give autos the intelligence and sensing capabilites of man. Vehicle as human...it’s an analogy, of course, but come along for the ride. THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE POLICY TASK FORCE CONTINUED: AUTONOMOUS DEFINED