The test was carried out at the Ford Arizona Proving Ground in the US to show how the company’s use of LiDAR technology and 3D maps work in conjunction to allow vehicles to drive without their headlights on.

To navigate in the dark, Ford self-driving cars use high-resolution 3D maps – complete with information about the road, road markings, geography, topography and landmarks like signs, buildings and trees. The vehicle uses LiDAR pulses to pinpoint itself on the map in real time. Additional data from radar gets fused with that of LiDAR to complete the full sensing capability of the autonomous vehicle.

The carmaker said the test marks an important development as it shows that even without cameras, which rely on light, Ford’s LiDAR – working with the car’s virtual driver software – can navigate the car flawlessly around winding roads.

It added that while it’s ideal to have all three modes of sensors – radar, cameras and LiDAR – the latter can function independently on roads without stoplights.

“Thanks to LiDAR, the test cars aren’t reliant on the sun shining, nor cameras detecting painted white lines on the asphalt,” says Jim McBride, Ford technical leader for autonomous vehicles. “In fact, LiDAR allows autonomous cars to drive just as well in the dark as they do in the light of day.”