- Two Toyota Supras drifted without a human behind the steering wheel
- The stunt was a collaboration between the Toyota Research Institute and Standard University
- The cars used AI to learn from each other like a human driver
Toyota teamed up with researchers at Stanford University to develop a pair of Supras capable of performing a tandem drift autonomously.
Seeing the cars in action is certainly cool, but the goal for researchers is a serious one. They are looking to develop automated driver-assist features capable of performing in extreme situations—something that could be a boon for next-generation stability control systems.
California-based Toyota Research Institute in 2022 already demonstrated a Supra that could perform a drift autonomously. Such capability could, in the future, help a vehicle to maintain control during a slide on snow or ice.
Now Toyota Research Institute has teamed up with Stanford Engineering to develop a more advanced capabilities. The researchers added a second Supra capable of drifting in tandem with a lead car. It’s designed to adapt dynamically to the motion of the lead car so that it can drift alongside without colliding, sometimes coming within inches of the lead car, as shown in the video.
This kind of capability could enable a vehicle to respond quickly to avoid other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. A loss of control in such situations is one of the biggest causes of crashes, according to the researchers.
The test took place at California’s Thunderhill Raceway Park and didn’t simply involve two cars with the same programming, though they did share a dedicated WiFi network that allowed them to communicate in real time by exchanging information such as their relative positions and planned trajectories.
The lead car was programmed by Toyota while the chase car was programmed by the team at Stanford. According to the researchers, the cars used AI, including a neural network that allowed it to learn from previous runs, much like a human driver.
Could we see such a system in production? While Toyota is developing self-driving systems that eliminate the need for a driver, the company is also developing a system that could actually appeal to enthusiasts. Known as Guardian, it lets you drive the car as you wish but if you get into trouble, for example failing to respond in time to an object ahead or perhaps falling asleep behind the wheel, the system can take over as necessary. Toyota has said the Guardian system would amplify a driver’s ability, not replace it.
