Review of exteroceptive sensors for autonomous driving

Autonomous Vehicles (AV) rely mainly on perceptual sensors to prepare the driving decision. Perceptual sensors provide an image of the space around the car, called exteroceptive sensors, and information such as position, speed, and direction of movement for the car, called introspective sensors. This paper presents the state-of-the-art exteroceptive sensor technologies and introduces their key parameters. The paper explains how to select appropriate sensors based on the performance metrics to cater to the requirement of self-driving cars using basic mathematics. The paper then compares the features of these sensors based on 30 metrics categorized into performance, functionality, and robustness. To conclude, the paper presents an overview of the sensor set appropriate for AVs.