Burning rubber, without ever touching the steering wheel.
Is autonomous driving boring? Toyota Research Institute would disagree. TRI created a Supra that could burn rubber without any human input to show it has achieved a new milestone in driverless tech development. This hands-free coupe is the first car to complete a course that circles obstacles. The demonstration was held on a closed track.
Although someone was in the driver’s chair, he only used the “Engage” switch on the center console to control it. The Supra’s “Nonlinear Model Predictive Control” (TRI) is a lot smarter than the one at your Toyota dealer. The Supra can perform autonomous drifts, and it can also demonstrate its ability to act quickly and execute evasive maneuvers to avoid obstacles. It can also keep the vehicle in control on slippery surfaces like black ice.
There’s a reason why the vehicle may look familiar. It was modified to look like the Formula Drift. The tail-happy Supra was modified to resemble the drift-happy race car, from the engine and transmission to suspension and safety kits. Thunderhill Raceway, California, was the venue for the hands-free demonstration. It took place on Thunderhill’s two-mile West track.
Computers control everything in the tire-slaying Zupra: throttle, throttle, clutch and sequential transmission. Toyota explains that the project was made possible by the Dynamic Design Lab at Stanford University. Professional drifter Ken Gushi and GReddy also assisted.
Although the ultimate goal is full autonomy, it’s not yet possible. John Krafcik, the former CEO of Waymo, stated that level 5 is unlikely to happen.
Mercedes was the first automaker to be awarded global certification. This is available for the S Class and EQS. Honda received it early last year but only for the Legend sedan in Japan.
PS. At the 0/18 mark, you will see a prefacelift Genesis G70.