Bug repelling technology could end to self-driving car malfunctions

For humans, bugs are a pesky distraction, but for self-driving cars they can be a matter of life or death. Ford, whose self-driving cars were just deployed in Austin, Texas, has come up with a novel set of tools to keep stray insects from interfering with the crucial sensors in its self-driving cars. Developed in partnership with Argo AI, Ford's vehicles use a complex laser technology called Lidar to generate spatial information for the car's navigation system. Similar to a radar system, lidar sends out a laser light and measures small differences in the speed and angle of the light that's reflected back from the environment, as reported by VentureBeat Those measurements are then used to generate information about surrounding vehicles and objects. Predictably, the biggest challenge for the sensors aren't parked cars or irresponsible drivers but insects, which can end up smashed against the lidar sensors and throw off their readings.