Here's what the satellite created, and it's everything a self-driving car needs from a quick photo. Before anyone believes self-driving cars will be able to storm streets around the world, automakers and companies with interests in automated vehicles need to complete a major task: mapping the world's infrastructure of roads. Until then, it's why we see companies like Waymo and Cruise Automation only carry out tests within certain areas with geo-fenced portions of a city. These roads are what the self-driving car knows exclusively, thanks to HD mapping. But Toyota may be on the verge of a breakthrough when it comes to the daunting task.