Kids Learning Lab · New Episode

How Self-Driving Cars Work

LIDAR lasers, radar, cameras, and a computer brain that senses, predicts, and plans — all in a fraction of a second. Hop in for a ride with Waymo.

radarLIDAR videocamCameras psychologyAI Brain quizQuiz
directions_car
Did you know?

Four things that might surprise you

radar

LIDAR shoots out thousands of invisible laser beams every second to build a 3D map of the world.

dark_mode

LIDAR works perfectly in total darkness — it doesn't need any light to "see."

cloud

Radar uses radio waves instead of light, so it still works great in rain, fog, or snow.

map

Self-driving cars use maps so detailed they know exactly where every curb and stop sign is, down to a few inches.

Try it yourself

Spot the hazards like a self-driving car

A self-driving car uses three sensors working together: LIDAR (shape and distance), cameras (color and signs), and radar (speed, even in bad weather). Switch sensors below, then tap everything you can spot on the road.

Found: 0 / 4 Viewing: LIDAR

LIDAR shows shapes and distance — tap the pedestrian and the stop sign you can outline.

Try it yourself

Ask the Waymo car a question

Remember the self-driving car from the episode? Ask it anything about LIDAR, cameras, radar, or how it senses, predicts, and plans.

directions_car

Waymo the Car

Ask away — I sense, predict, and plan every second.

Hello there! Welcome. Ask me anything about how I see the road and decide what to do next.
How does LIDAR work?
LIDAR sends out thousands of invisible laser beams every second in every direction. When they bounce off something — like a car or a person — they come right back to me, so I can tell exactly how far away it is and what shape it is, even in the dark!

Waymo the car is an AI and can make mistakes — always double check with a grown-up.

Every second, on repeat

Sense. Predict. Plan.

Waymo told us the secret: it does the same three steps over and over, many times a second, for the whole ride.

Sense
LIDAR, cameras, and radar scan everything around the car, all at once.
Perceive
A neural network figures out what each thing is — person, bike, stop sign.
Predict
The car guesses what that person or car might do next, before it happens.
Plan
It decides exactly what to do — slow down, stop, or merge safely.
Sensor showdown

Three senses, three superpowers

radarLIDAR

Laser mapping

3D shapes
Works perfectly even in total darkness
videocamCameras

Color vision

Signs + lights
Reads stop signs and traffic light colors
wifiRadar

Radio waves

Speed check
Best sensor in rain, fog, and snow
psychologyAI Brain

Neural network

Millions
Trained on millions of examples to spot things
Quiz time

Were you paying attention?

Five questions. See if you can drive your way to a perfect score.

1. What does LIDAR stand for?
emoji_events0/5

Nice work!

celebration

Thanks for signing up for the newsletter!

Access your accountarrow_forward