Mangharam describes autonomous vehicles as continuously executing a three-step process. The first step is perception, the system's attempt to understand what is in the world around it. It should be able to spot a stop sign and other vehicles on the road. Then, data gathered is used to make a plan, which starts with the final destination, formulates a route, and then decides how to navigate that route. The car decides what speed, braking, and trajectory is needed to, for example, get around a slow-moving car on the highway while trying to reach an off-ramp. The third step is the process of driving, the application of brakes, gas, and steering to get where the vehicle is directed to go.