See the Road Through the Eyes of a Self-Driving Car

Check out how different our world looks through an autonomous car’s sensors and cameras. Ready to let your car drive? 

Sci-fi is finally becoming reality. Self-driving cars are testing on our roads today. Almost all of our favorite movies based in the future had a version of autonomous vehicles. From the Johnny Cab in Total Recall to the semi-autonomous police cruiser in Demolition Man, these movies were actually predicting our future. At this point, almost every major manufacturer offers a form of autonomous driving, either on sale or in development. Electric car manufacturer Tesla offers a hands-free Autopilot and holds the record for the fastest hands-free drive across the country. So, how is BMW competing in this space?

BMW introduced its version of a semi-autonomous driving system on the 2016 750i. Called Active Driving Assistant Plus, this system is more active cruise control than a self-driving car.

The BMW system uses a stereo camera mounted behind the rearview mirror, which gives the car depth perception. It also has 5 radar elements monitoring traffic in every direction. Between the cameras and radar, the system takes in a ton of information every second. What does all of this data look like to the computer behind the wheel?

Companies Moove Lab and Meso Digital Interiors developed a way for people to experience being a self-driving car. They built a special electric cart that uses a host of sensors and cameras. These inputs use the same technology currently found in autonomous vehicles.
 

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Once you mount yourself into the cart, you strap on an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. This displays the data and information gathered from the sensors. The setup uses a 3-D-depth camera, which maps the road in real time. There are also LIDAR sensors that constantly calculate the distance between the cart and objects that reflect light. You drive the cart using only this data, just like a self-driving car would. Check out the video and let us know in the comments if you’re ready to let your car take over.