Environmental comparison of LiDAR and Camera in a simulated CARLA environment

Abstract: Computer vision for autonomous vehicles is a widely studied and quickly evolving field of research. It can be difficult to know when one technology is performs better or worse, and in which scenario it's worth it to spend the additional resources on LiDAR. This paper defines criteria for comparison between the two technologies, compares the criteria in different environments designed to test each of the technologies' weaknesses and finally evaluates the performances. After evaluating the performances of the defined criteria the paper concludes that despite the smaller price tag of the camera, they can be a very viable choice overall with an above average performance in the selected environments, as well as maintaining some benefits that LiDAR can't handle. However overall, if the budget allows, LiDAR performs generally better in all environments.