Drifting is already cool, but autonomous drifting off in the name of science is a lot cooler. The Toyota Research Institute has partnered with Stanford University to develop safer cars for regular drivers by drifting the 2021 GR Supra on its own. Let’s find out why.
As the Toyota website puts it, “The engineers are researching how to bring the instincts of professional drivers and automated driving technology together. Their goal is to design a new level of active safety technology and share it widely so that Toyota and other car manufacturers can apply it on the road. “
In other words, professional drivers have developed their reflexes throughout their lives. Those skills often have to do with reflexes and intuition, things that a computer still finds difficult to replicate – especially at high speeds or in challenging conditions. Those professional drivers use to teach autonomous systems how to function better in situations where they have to make quick decisions.
It also looks sick as hell.
“Every day there are fatal car accidents resulting from extreme situations that require most drivers superhuman skills avoid collision, “ Gill Pratt, TRI CEO and Chief Scientist at Toyota, said. “The reality is that every driver has vulnerabilities, and to avoid a crash, drivers often have to perform maneuvers beyond their capabilities.”
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Toyota does note that most driving does not require the above-mentioned superhuman skills, but it is always good to consider the extreme conditions. High-speed collisions on the highway require quick reflexes. Right now, self-driving cars know how to handle those situations, but the whole goal now is to avoid them altogether.
You can read more about the research via the “Opening new dimensions: Planning and control of vehicle movements with braking while drifting ” published by Stanford University.