Leading research firm that explores advanced robotics, energy and materials, machine learning, and human-centric artificial intelligence, Toyota Research Institute (TRI), on Wednesday announced that it demonstrated a new research milestone in autonomy, providing a glimpse into the future of safer mobility for all.
According to a communication from TRI, its researchers successfully programmed a vehicle to autonomously drift around obstacles on a closed track.
This achievement brings TRI researchers closer to understanding the full spectrum of vehicle performance. The software advances announced today calculate a whole new trajectory every 20th of a second to balance the car gracefully as it goes around the track.
TRI's Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) approach extends the vehicle's operational domain to the very limits of its performance. This research aims to utilise controlled, autonomous drifting to avoid accidents by navigating sudden obstacles or hazardous road conditions like black ice.
Avinash Balachandran, Senior Manager, Human Centric Driving Research, TRI, said, 'At TRI, our goal is to use advanced technologies that augment and amplify humans, not replace them. Through this project, we are expanding the region in which a car is controllable, intending to give regular drivers the instinctual reflexes of a professional race car driver to be able to handle the most challenging emergencies and keep people safer on the road.'
Jonathan Goh, Research Scientist, TRI, said, 'When faced with wet or slippery roads, professional drivers may choose to 'drift' the car through a turn, but most of us are not professional drivers. That's why TRI is programming vehicles that can identify obstacles and autonomously drift around obstacles on a closed track.'