system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How are Google's self-driving cars apparently so reliable with real-time response when all computers seem to suffer slowdowns and freezes?
gpt
Personal computers only slow down and freeze because they are designed to try to do whatever you command them to do, even if such tasks are beyond their ability to do quickly.  That means they sometimes get overloaded.

There are many, many computers in embedded control systems that run for years without so much as a hiccup.  By strictly limiting the functions that a computer is required to perform, and evaluating the worst-case amount of time those functions could take, engineers can ensure that the computer is never overwhelmed.