Self-driving cars may still be in their infancy but rapid progress has given the technology a new feather in its cap with the ability to read and understand cyclist hand signals.

A patent filed by Google outlines how a concept car bristling with an array of sensors plugged into the vehicle can keep tabs on a cyclist’s posture, registering whether they are signalling to turn left or right or detect when they are braking.

Key to pulling off the trick is a visual recognition algorithm which can accurately differentiate a cyclist from other roadside objects before monitoring changes in appearance to deduce intent and actions.

To do this an onboard computer calculates the height of objects which could correspond to a cyclist before measuring the distance between the cyclist’s head and the pavement at differing ranges.

Armed with this information it is then possible to identify the angle at which an outstretched hand is bent and the system can also be configured to identify similar vehicles such as scooters and mopeds.

Google is working toward road ready vehicles within the next five years