Photo credit: Kurt Hickman
Stanford researchers have developed an autonomous Audi TTS running new control software that relies on prior driving experience to remain in control, and be able to handle the unexpected. The team created a neural network to enable these driverless cars to perform high-speed maneuvers just like a pro driver. “Our work is motivated by safety, and we want autonomous vehicles to work in many scenarios, from normal driving on high-friction asphalt to fast, low-friction driving in ice and snow. We want our algorithms to be as good as the best skilled drivers – and, hopefully, better,” said Nathan Spielberg, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Stanford. Read more for a video and additional information.
“The Stanford team trained a neural network with data from 200,000 motion samples, including test drives on slippery surfaces like snow and ice. They then took their system to Thunderhill Raceway in the Sacramento Valley to test it out. The Stanford team used two self-driving cars in their tests: Niki, an autonomous Volkswagen GTI, and Shelley, an autonomous Audi TTS,” reports The Verge.
