Solar storms can sever the data connection between a vehicle’s global-position system and the satellites that supply location information.

In the event of solar trouble, computer-driven cars would pull over and wait for connectivity to return. Self-driving systems should not be overly reliant on GPS.

“At the very least, in the event of solar disruption, there is enough redundancy for the car to calmly pull itself over and stop, said Danny Shapiro, senior director of the automotive unit at Nvidia Corp., which makes chips and artificial intelligence systems for Uber Inc. and a wide range of automakers. Automated vehicles can operate quite well, even when online connectivity is hampered.”

Read the article at Bloomberg.