Driverless cars, also known as autonomous vehicles, have started to become a common sight on our roads.
However, as cool as they might seem, they are not without problems.
They have been involved in a number of accidents, and this is a big concern for researchers and the public.
To solve this issue, a team of researchers from The Ohio State University has developed a unique method to test and improve these driverless cars, without risking actual lives or property.
The research was led by Bilin Aksun-Guvenc, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and co-director of Ohio State’s Automated Driving Lab.
The team has created a special software known as Vehicle-in-Virtual-Environment (VVE) that places these autonomous cars in a virtual environment, similar to how you’d experience a video game.
Picture this: a self-driving car is placed in an empty parking lot, but it’s not reacting to the real world. Instead, it’s responding to what the VVE software tells it about the road conditions, other cars, pedestrians, and any potential hazards.
“This way, we can make the car think it’s driving on a real road, while it’s actually in a safe testing area,” said Aksun-Guvenc. “This not only makes testing less risky and costly, but also helps us prepare these vehicles for rare or extreme traffic events.”
This new technique involves replacing the vehicle’s sensor outputs with simulated data, essentially giving the vehicle a sort of virtual reality headset. The car then behaves as if the virtual environment were its actual surroundings.
One of the most exciting aspects of the VVE method, as explained by Levent Guvenc, the study’s co-author and co-director of the Automated Driving Lab, is its flexibility. The software can simulate a vast range of scenarios, from an unexpected pedestrian darting in front of the vehicle to everyday situations like pedestrians waiting at a crosswalk.
The researchers also developed a special app for vehicle-to-pedestrian communication using Bluetooth. It allows the car and a pedestrian (who is actually safe and away from the car) to interact virtually.
This breakthrough method promises a safer way to develop, test, and improve autonomous vehicles. The team has filed a patent for the technology and believes it could become an industry standard in the next five to ten years.
So, just like playing a video game, this virtual testing approach could make our roads safer in the future! Now, that’s some seriously cool science!
This study was published in the journal Sensors. Follow us on Twitter for more articles about this topic.
