> so when the cats lays in front of it -- it will just run over it, not being able to see it? LIDAR stands for Light Detection And Ranging. Much like sonar (wh

> so when the cats lays in front of it -- it will just run over it, not being able to see it? LIDAR stands for Light Detection And Ranging. Much like sonar (which is also used on an autonomous car) it is used to map 3D environments, producing models which can then be analysed by the computer. A plastic bag lying perfectly flat on a road would look like sensor noise, whereas a cat would be a noticeable obstacle (much like a fallen garbage bin or a basketball). This clip[0] from Udacity's CS373 class is great if you want to find out what an autonomous car "sees". In short, if you're a two dimensional cat, you're in trouble. Otherwise you should be fine :) > Usually after 10 years of deep investigation, What? I said "I'd imagine..." because that part of my post was pure speculation since AFAIK nobody has ever been in a serious autonomous car accident. > I guess what I was trying to say is that I think getting killed by a car driven by machine feels easier on your conscious than being killed by a car who is driven by a human. Touché, fair point. [0]: http://youtu.be/XZL934YQ-FQ http://youtu.be/XZL934YQ-FQ - you can skip to 0:55 if you just want to see the LIDAR-generated model