Weather phenomena can impact our travels, and self-driving cars are no different from us in that sense. Inclement conditions can create challenges for autonomous vehicles.
Reflections from wet roads can confuse cameras; and dirt and condensation from fog and mist can disrupt sensors, making it hard for cars to accurately perceive the world around them. Additionally, snow and rain have an effect on the frictions of the tires and impact how cars drive. Waymo, the self-driving car company from Google’s parent Alphabet, has a plan for keeping its path clear. It involves using what it calls the Waymo Driver—the core technologies steering its autonomous vehicles—as mobile weather stations, helping the company understand the detailed conditions in which their vehicles are operating and hopefully make better decisions on the road.