Skip to main content

LIDAR, lasers, and logic: Anatomy of an autonomous vehicle

Autonomous vehicle LIDAR roofAutonomous vehicles are getting a lot attention as of late, and if this last CES prophesized anything, it’s that this tech trend has some serious mileage. With companies like Audi, Lexus, and Google exploring ways to push the driving experience into the 21st century, we’re not far from a future where driving is done by machine – not man. But before you can rush out to your local dealer (just kidding; none of these are at your local dealer) to catch a glimpse of our automated overlords, you’re going to notice one striking similarity across virtually all models: the LIDAR. We know what you’re thinking: The what-DAR?

Frikkin lasers

One of the most integral, expensive, and noticeable pieces of equipment found in an autonomous vehicle is the roof-mounted, Death Star-like LIDAR sensor. LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote-sensing technology that measures and maps the distance to targets, as well as other property characteristics of objects in its path. LIDAR essentially maps its surroundings by illuminating its targets with laser light and then analyzing that light to create a high resolution digital image.

Recommended Videos

While LIDAR sensors are employed in virtually all autonomous research vehicles, the technology has already featured in cars with adaptive cruise control systems (ACC).

In vehicles with ACC, a LIDAR device mounted on the front of the vehicle, like the bumper, is used to monitor the distance between that vehicle and any car in front of it. If the vehicle in front slows down or gets too close, ACC independently applies the brakes to slow the vehicle down. When road conditions open up, ACC allows a vehicle to accelerate to a speed preset by the driver. Refer to my review of the 2013 Mercedes SL550 for an example of a vehicle with adaptive cruise control.

Roof-mounted LIDAR sensors function a little differently, however, and behave similarly to what you’d see atop a satellite installation on an airfield or aboard a small fishing vessel.

Here we have a low-spinning dish (say 1 rpm) gathering long range, low resolution targeting of other objects (other vessels or aircraft for example). This low-res feedback may work for stationary installations, but vehicles need much higher resolution imagery and at much closer range.

Lexus LIDAR autonomous vehicle
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While not official figures, the rpm count on, say, Lexus’s AASRV vehicle, shown at CES, might spin at 600 rpms. This increase in rpms allows the vehicle to map its surroundings with greater detail, speed (less than a dozen milliseconds), and accuracy, which is essential on a roadway where conditions are constantly changing.

Currently, LIDAR sensors are not built in-house, but they are commercially available – and expensive. Oh so very expensive. A top-of-the-line Velodyne sensor, for example, can fetch $70,000 a pop and can be found hypnotically spinning atop Google’s, Lexus’, and Audi’s research vehicles.

Roadmap to autonomy

LIDAR might be the most conspicuous piece of driverless tech, but as Paul Williamsen, Global Manager of Education and Training for Lexus International, tells me, the anatomy of autonomous vehicles, including LIDAR, encompasses four relatively broad domains:

  • Making a vehicle in which you can control the steering, the power delivery, and the breaking – all automatically.
  • Technology that allows the vehicle to sense the environment around it
  • The processing – what does that vehicle determine, what decisions does it make based on the sensing of what is going on around it
  • The output – what actions does the vehicle make based on that processing

The wave of the future

In addition to LIDAR providing sensory feedback, autonomous vehicles employ a not-so-new technology called millimeter-wave radar, which involves various infrared and optical sensors placed at the front of, sides, and rear quarters of a vehicle.

As you’ll no doubt recall from high-school science class, millimeter-wave radar emits extremely high frequency (short) wavelengths, which is ideal for detecting objects (cars, pedestrians, and large animals) in a vehicle’s immediate vicinity.

Mercedes SL 550 LIDARInfrared and optical sensors already feature heavily in current Audi, Lexus, Acura, Subaru, and Mercedes vehicles. Lexus’ 2013 LS 460, for example, sports what is called an Advanced Pre-Collision System (A-PCS). This works in conjunction with millimeter-wave radar, front facing near infrared projectors, and a front-mounted stereo camera. Essentially, A-PCS is designed to avoid low-speed collisions by scanning vehicles in the near-to-far vicinity, determining potential collisions, and emitting audio visual indicators if a danger is present, and eventually operating autonomously by applying emergency braking countermeasures.

As you can see, autonomous vehicle technology is a mixture of sensing and processing protocols. While millimeter wave radar sensors can be placed in and around the vehicle, such examples, like the ones seen on both Google and Lexus prototypes, typically feature even more sensors hung from brackets off a vehicle’s bumpers. These allow for even greater radar sensing to the sides of the vehicle, as opposed to just the front. This way, information can be gathered accurately in adjacent lanes, cross-streets and intersections.

The brains of the bunch

Of course, all this information needs to be collected and processed, which is why autonomous vehicles now and in the future will make use of relatively powerful onboard computers. As Lexus’ Paul Williamsen explains, “The vehicle we showed at CES actually has a number of high-powered computers in the trunk of the car, computers that you and I might have on your desktop.”

In contrast, the computers currently occupying space in our vehicles are relatively dim-witted by comparison, as Williamsen further explains, “the most powerful computer in a conventional vehicle is a very simple computer, because we need absolute complete reliability, they run at a fairly slow clock speed, they run at a fairly low amount of memory, and at a fairly simple number of words in their total programming and that’s because we need absolute boat-anchor levels of reliability”

“For autonomous vehicle research we are using computers … that are hundreds or thousands of times more powerful to do the processing, to put together the information of the complex LIDAR images and the information we are getting from multiple millimeter wave radar sensors.”

Driving, minus the driver

Velodyne LiDAR
Image used with permission by copyright holder

So we have LIDAR, we have millimeter-wave radar, and we have an all-powerful Autobot brain running the show. But what’s actually driving digital Miss Daisy? For an autonomous vehicle to work, it needs to be controlled electronically, automatically, or to borrow a much more science-fictional term, robotically. These “robots” won’t overthrow the government, but instead kindly take over all the minutiae of driving. More than that, they all need to work in unison and, perhaps more importantly, independent of any human input.

In Toyota/Lexus’ case, its vehicles, namely its hybrid vehicles, already have what the company refers to as a “sophisticated hybrid system” capable of electronically controlling braking, steering, and acceleration. This particular domain of autonomous vehicle technology is essential, and is one of the reasons why Google utilizes Toyota/Lexus hybrids. In doing so, the Internet giant doesn’t need to develop its own electronically controlled interface, but instead simply figure out a way to reverse engineer the communications that allow it to create various steering, throttle, and braking commands.

While LIDAR is certainly the most visually prominent piece of driverless tech, every aspect of an autonomous vehicle is delicately intertwined with this spinning centerpiece. The automated steering controls depend on the millimeter-wave radar, while roof-mounted LIDAR frantically collects and maps vital information. That information needs to be processed, calculated, and ultimately fed back to the automated controls; thus completing this halcyon circle of automotive wizardry.

Amir Iliaifar
Former Associate Automotive Editor
Associate Automotive Section Editor for Digital Trends, Amir Iliaifar covers the ever increasing cross-section between tech…
Archer’s flying taxis head to LA for the 2028 Olympics
archer air taxi la28 inglewood aerial a final

Remember the buzz about flying taxis zipping through Paris for the 2024 Olympics? That sci-fi fantasy never got off the ground —Germany’s Volocopter dream was denied certification, leaving fans staring at the same old ground traffic. But now, the skies are opening again for a second shot at glory—this time over Los Angeles.
Archer Aviation, the California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company, has been named the exclusive air taxi provider for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Archer’s Midnight aircraft, a piloted electric air taxi designed to carry four passengers, will be whisking around VIPs, fans, and stakeholders between venues and key locations like LAX, Hollywood, Santa Monica, and even Orange County. Think 10-20 minute flights that skip the infamous LA gridlock and land you right where the action is—on the roof, basically.
“We want to transform the way people get around Los Angeles and leave a legacy that shapes the future of transportation in America. There’s no better time to do that than during the LA28 Games,” said Adam Goldstein, CEO and founder of Archer Aviation.
And Midnight isn’t just a pretty rotor. It’s a whisper-quiet, emission-light aircraft with 12 rotors and a redundant, airline-level safety design.
What’s more, Archer and LA28 are working together to electrify vertiport hubs around the city—think futuristic sky stations—to serve not only Games-time needs but also to plant seeds for a post-Olympic air mobility network.
The air mobility market has been fast developing over the past few years, featuring the likes of Hyundai partnership with China’s XPeng HT Aero and Toyota's backing of Joby Aviation, a U.S. venture. Joby bought Uber Elevate in 2020, hoping to someday pair its air taxis with Uber’s ride-hailing app.
Archer, for its part, has been busy building a strategic partnership with United Airlines, which has already placed orders for the aircraft and is helping with logistics to integrate air taxis into airport-to-downtown travel. More than a demo for the cameras, the LA28 partnership will showcase urban air travel for real-world daily use, starting with one of the most high-profile events on Earth.
After raising false hopes in Paris, the air taxi dream is aiming for liftoff in LA—and this time, it might just stick the landing.

Read more
Electric Muscle Misfire? Dodge Pulls Charger Daytona R/T from 2026 Lineup
electric muscle misfire dodge pulls charger daytona r t from 2026 lineup all new

The Dodge Charger Daytona R/T, once hailed as the vanguard of Dodge’s electric muscle car future, is being dropped for the 2026 model year.
According to a report from MoparInsiders, the Scat Pack variant will now lead the Daytona lineup, marking a significant pivot in Stellantis’ EV strategy.
Originally introduced with bold ambitions, the Charger Daytona R/T was designed to offer an accessible gateway into electric performance. With its 456-horsepower dual-motor setup and optional 509-horsepower Direct Connection stage kit, it seemed poised to excite both muscle car fans and EV newcomers. However, market realities have painted a different picture.
Industry and media reports highlight the core issue: buyers just weren’t biting. Despite its impressive specs and nostalgic design cues, the R/T struggled to justify its price tag, starting near $60,000. At that level, buyers expected either more performance or more premium features. Without strong sales traction, Dodge made the tough call to shelve the R/T variant for 2026, opting instead to focus on trims that resonate better with customers.
As we reported in December, the Charger EV was launched with an off-beat marketing message to “save the planet from self-driving sleep pods.” The goal was to retain Dodge’s brand identity—muscle, aggression, and driver engagement—even in the electric era. The Charger Daytona R/T was supposed to be the perfect balance of price and performance, but it seems the target audience wasn’t ready to make that leap at that price.
Importantly, this doesn’t spell the end of the Charger Daytona altogether. Higher-performance models like the Scat Pack and Banshee are still in the pipeline and, interestingly, are being adjusted for price competitiveness. Several trims are reportedly seeing price cuts, suggesting Stellantis is serious about making these vehicles more appealing and accessible.
For enthusiasts, the takeaway is clear: the electric muscle car isn’t going anywhere, but automakers are still figuring out how to sell it. The demise of the R/T is less a failure and more a recalibration—proof that even the boldest plans need to stay flexible in the face of consumer demand.

Read more
The all-electric Cadillac Vistiq makes the Escalade redundant
2026 Cadillac Vistiq front-quarter view.

Cadillac wants a full lineup of electric vehicles, and it’s nearly there. It has a standard crossover SUV (the Lyriq), an entry-level model (the Optiq), an electric version of its flagship Escalade (the Escalade IQ), and even a baroque showpiece (the Celestiq). But something’s missing.

For a modern luxury brand, a midsize three-row crossover is key. Customers for whom a Toyota Highlander is too déclassé need something to take their kids to lacrosse practice, but may not want something as big as an Escalade. This isn’t the most exciting design brief, and that’s reflected in the gasoline Cadillac XT6, which has always felt like nothing more than a placeholder. Its new electric counterpart, the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq, is anything but.

Read more