--- title: Self-driving cars and machines that run themselves — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Self-driving cars and machines that run themselves», a lesson of the technology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A self-driving car is a robot you can sit in. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Technology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/) / Self-driving cars and machines that ru… # Self-driving cars and machines that run themselves Lesson 40 of the technology course of Mova's primary school: 22 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/0/) — A self-driving car is a robot you can sit in. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/1/) — Cameras, radar and lidar, a spinning laser that times how long its light takes to bounce back, build a moving 3D picture of the street, and a computer decides many times a second whether to steer, brake or speed up. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/2/) — Most cars are not fully self-driving: they have helpers that keep the car in its lane or brake by themselves before a crash, while the driver stays in charge. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/3/) — Some American and Chinese cities already have robotaxis with no driver at all. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/4/) — Machines that run themselves are all around you: the shop door that slides open as you walk up, the self-checkout that weighs your apples, the vending machine that checks your coin, the cash machine that counts out notes. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/5/) — Each one senses something, follows its program and moves. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/6/) — This is the last lesson of the course, so look back at the big ideas. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/7/) — People build roads, power stations, cables, satellites and robots; energy is turned from one form to another to make them run; and every machine follows rules people wrote. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/8/) — That is why the safety rules matter: never touch what is dangerous, and always tell an adult. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/9/) — Machines take over boring, repeating jobs, and people design, build, fix and run them, and new jobs keep appearing. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/10/) — One day the person who invents the next machine could be you. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/11/) — A self-driving car uses cameras, radar and lidar to scan around it, and a computer decides how to steer, brake and speed up; robotaxis without a driver already carry passengers in some American and Chinese cities. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/12/) — Even near self-driving cars, always cross the road safely: stop, look and listen. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/13/) — Lidar is a spinning laser that measures the distance to everything by timing how long its light takes to come back, and it can build a 3D picture of a street. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/14/) — Driver assistance, like lane keeping and automatic emergency braking, uses cameras to help the driver, and many new cars can brake by themselves to avoid a crash; the driver must still pay attention. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/15/) — Automatic doors use sensors, some with a radar beam and some with infrared light, to detect people coming, and motors open them; never play in them, because they can close on you. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/16/) — A self-checkout scanner reads barcodes, and a scale checks the weight of each item, which is why it complains about an unexpected item in the bagging area. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/17/) — A vending machine checks the money, some by the size, weight and metal of the coin, and then a spiral turns to push the snack forward; never tip or rock one, because it can fall on you. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/18/) — A cash machine, or ATM, reads the card's chip, checks the PIN with the bank and counts out notes; the first cash machine opened in London in 1967. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/19/) — A smart home has lights, heating and locks connected to the internet that can be controlled by phone or voice, and a smart thermostat can learn when people are home; the accounts must be kept secure. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/20/) — Robot dogs are four-legged robots that use motors and balance sensors to walk on rough ground where wheels get stuck, and some inspect places too dangerous for people. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/40-self-driving-cars-and-machines-that-run-themselves/21/) — Machines take over repetitive tasks, while people design, build, fix and run them, and new jobs appear as old ones change. - ← previous: [Robots at work and at home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/39-robots-at-work-and-at-home/) - next →: [Rivers, canals and boats: locks, weirs, water-mills, barges and how not to tip a rowing boat](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/41-rivers-canals-and-boats-locks-weirs-water-mills-barges-and-how-not-to-tip-a-rowing-boat/) - ↑ back to [Technology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/)