4 Interaction with Other Vehicles
Apple’s “Vehicle Control System” patent pretty much outlines how a self-driving car could interact with other vehicles on the road. Basically, it’s the “systems and methods” that allow for automated vehicle lane change maneuvers. But, of course, it implements fairly complex methods of detection and prediction in order to make safe lane changes.
The system relies on a suite of sensors to determine the location and motion of nearby vehicles. It then uses that data to make a safe lane change, predicting the potential moves of other vehicles. Before performing any lane change action, the system determines how “feasible” that maneuver actually is, based on the other cars on the road.