Hop inside a robotaxi, cruising the streets of San Francisco or Phoenix and you may come away thinking these driverless cars operate on magic.
Not quite fairydust, but they are backed by a series of sophisticated technologies, including machine-learning software, high-definition cameras and state-of-the-art sensors. Even so, these vehicles are not foolproof — they can have problems with how they perceive other objects or people on the road.
Developed in part by Northeastern University Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Ravinder Dahiya, a new component inspired by biology and designed to improve these vehicles’ vision may make them even more responsive in the future.
In a newly published paper in Nature Communications, Dahiya and his…