• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers

2

College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind

3

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'

1

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers

2

College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind

3

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
Tech

The Key to Perfecting Driverless Cars Could be Hiding in Your Smartphone

By
Hilary Brueck
Hilary Brueck
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Hilary Brueck
Hilary Brueck
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 29, 2015, 9:40 AM ET
Kirsten Korosec
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Elon Musk is confident his company’s all-electric, autonomous vehicles will be on the road in two years.

Meanwhile, Google (GOOG) parent company Alphabet is planning big things for its own driverless cars, which is set to become an independent business in 2016.

Although, as you might expect, driverless technologies are expensive and could impact not only the final cost for these type of cars, but how long it takes to bring them to market.

The technology that serves as the eyes of a driverless car, the car’s sensor, is typically a mix of high-end laser beams, radar technology and cameras. Some of Google’s most recent driverless sensors are priced at $80,000 a piece, while less advanced models can run about $8,000 per part.

But a group of researchers at the University of Cambridge think they may have found an inexpensive fix for some of those pricey self-driving car parts. The U.K. team has developed a new sensor system that relies on camera technology readily found in any smartphone.

SIGN UP: Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

The technology, called SegNet, can quickly and accurately “see” what’s happening outside any vehicle by scanning its surroundings and sorting features into recognizable objects, everything from telephone poles to other cars on the road and buildings.

The new system relies on deep learning, which requires teaching the system how to tell objects apart by feeding it tens of thousands of different images. The system itself doesn’t have a price tag just yet, but the idea is that since it only requires a camera, and some extra computer processing, it would cost no more than $100—instead of the thousands spent today—according to researchers.

“That’s the beauty of this system, it requires computing power and a camera” says Alex Kendall, a PhD engineering student at Cambridge, and one of the inventors of the SegNet system. Kendall says the technology is almost road-ready in Cambridge, where it was created, but might need more work if it were to be used in snowy environments or the desert (where it would be unfamiliar with those types of environmental conditions).

WATCH: For more on Google’s self-driving cars, check out the following Fortune video:

For now, SegNet will probably stick to less ambitious navigation tasks, such as helping vacuums navigate around the house better or preventing domestic robots from getting lost.

When I tried out the technology at home, using photos taken of my street, SegNet couldn’t process the images displayed in front of it. But, maybe, with a little more time, it could one day help cars see well enough to autonomously pick up and drop off passengers anywhere in the world.

About the Author
By Hilary Brueck
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

small keyboard
AIOpenAI
OpenAI’s first hardware device debuted at $230. Now, it’s on eBay for $1,850
By Emily ForliniJuly 27, 2026
3 hours ago
Sam Altman thinks the singularity is already here, but an expert says OpenAI’s Hugging Face breach doesn’t prove it
AISam Altman
Sam Altman thinks the singularity is already here, but an expert says OpenAI’s Hugging Face breach doesn’t prove it
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 27, 2026
3 hours ago
Photo of Elon Musk
SuccessElon Musk
A Nobel economist challenged Elon Musk to donate his entire $1T fortune by 2036. Musk’s reply: ‘I am actually going to do something along these lines’
By Sydney LakeJuly 27, 2026
5 hours ago
Elon Musk’s vision of a post-money future got mocked. Vinod Khosla warns it could become a dystopia instead
AIthe future of work
Elon Musk’s vision of a post-money future got mocked. Vinod Khosla warns it could become a dystopia instead
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 27, 2026
6 hours ago
Dario Amodei looking to the side.
AIAnthropic
A trove of users’ seemingly private conversations with Anthropic’s Claude AI chatbot showed up in Google search results
By Beatrice NolanJuly 27, 2026
8 hours ago
The war between competing AI models could end up more like Apple vs. Android than VHS vs. Betamax
AITech
The war between competing AI models could end up more like Apple vs. Android than VHS vs. Betamax
By Jason MaJuly 27, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers
Retail
New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers
By Sarah GlodekJuly 27, 2026
19 hours ago
College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind
Economy
College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 26, 2026
2 days ago
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
Real Estate
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 25, 2026
3 days ago
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
Success
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 25, 2026
3 days ago
Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of voting rights—and taking us back to the 19th century?
C-Suite
Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of voting rights—and taking us back to the 19th century?
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 27, 2026
10 hours ago
I've been teaching college students for decades. Most of them can no longer finish a book
Commentary
I've been teaching college students for decades. Most of them can no longer finish a book
By Austin SaratJuly 26, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.