Engineers redesign a 1981 DeLorean with self-driving and drifting capabilities

Stanford engineers have redesigned an iconic 1981 DeLorean with a futuristic feature that Dr. Emmett Brown didn’t think of –self-driving capabilities.

The vehicle, referred to as MARTY, has been converted into an all-electric, self-driving machine that boasts custom suspension and onboard computers.

The team designed the vintage car to also drift in a bid to develop automated vehicles that can use all of the friction between the tires in order to ‘avoid any accident that is avoidable within the laws of physics’.

The MARTY, which stands for Multiple Actuator Research Test bed for Yaw control, was develop by a team at Stanford’s Dynamic Design Lab, which first designed to car to drift – a style of driving where the car moves forward but in a sideways position.

 

Stanford engineers have redesigned an iconic 1981 DeLorean with a futuristic feature that Dr. Emmett Brown didn’t think of –self-driving capabilities. The vehicle, referred to as MARTY, has been converted into an all-electric, self-driving machine that boasts custom suspension and onboard computers

After the car learned how to drift, the team redesigned its outer stricter and made some coding tweaks to prepare it for an obstacle course.

Mechanical engineer Chris Gerdes told Bjorn Carey with Stanford News: ‘We’re trying to develop automated vehicles that can handle emergency maneuvers or slippery surfaces like ice or snow.’

‘We’d like to develop automated vehicles that can use all of the friction between the tire and the road to get the car out of harm’s way.’

‘We want the car to be able to avoid any accident that’s avoidable within the laws of physics.’

After the car learned how to drift, the team redesigned its outer stricter and made some coding tweaks to prepare it for an obstacle course

After the car learned how to drift, the team redesigned its outer stricter and made some coding tweaks to prepare it for an obstacle course

The team studied how professional drivers maneuvered their vehicles and coded those same actions in MARTY

The team studied how professional drivers maneuvered their vehicles and coded those same actions in MARTY

The team studied how professional drivers maneuvered their vehicles and coded those same actions in MARTY.

‘On-board computers measure the car’s response over dozens of runs, and the engineers translate those vehicle dynamics into software that could one day help your car quickly dodge a pedestrian that darts into the road,’ the team shared in a statement.

The idea behind MARTY’s abilities is to develop autonomous vehicles that can safely handle every terrain and surface, such as ice and snow.

Tushar Goel, a grad student at Stanford, said: ‘Through drifting, we’re able to get to extreme examples of driving physics that we wouldn’t otherwise.’

‘If we can conquer how to safely control the car in the most stable and the most unstable scenarios, it becomes easier to connect all the dots in between.’

The underpowered drivetrain has been replaced by batteries and electric motors developed by Renovo. 

The original suspension were replaced with components that could withstand drifting and the mechanical controls for steering, braking and throttling were replaced by electronic systems- there is also a roll cage.

The team designed the vintage car to also drift across a obstacle course, with the goal of developing automated vehicles that can use all of the friction between the tires in order to 'avoid any accident that is avoidable within the laws of physics'

The team designed the vintage car to also drift across a obstacle course, with the goal of developing automated vehicles that can use all of the friction between the tires in order to ‘avoid any accident that is avoidable within the laws of physics’

The idea behind MARTY's abilities is to develop autonomous vehicles that can safely handle every terrain and surface, such as ice and snow

The idea behind MARTY’s abilities is to develop autonomous vehicles that can safely handle every terrain and surface, such as ice and snow

The roof is fitted with a pair of GPS antennae, which can track the car’s location down to the inch, according to the researchers.

And the entire system is powered by computers tucked behind the seats.

When MARTY enters the obstacle course, it is able to calculate the smoothest drift route possible in a matter of seconds. It takes far longer to set up the traffic cones.

‘The results so far are rather outstanding,’ Gerdes said.

‘The stability control systems of modern cars limit the driver’s control to a very narrow range of the car’s potential. 

‘With MARTY we have been able to more broadly define the range of conditions in which we can safely operate, and we have the ability to stabilize the car in these unstable conditions.’

The roof is fitted with a pair of GPS antennae, which can track the car's location down to the inch, according to the researchers. And the entire system is powered by computers tucked behind the seats

The roof is fitted with a pair of GPS antennae, which can track the car’s location down to the inch, according to the researchers. And the entire system is powered by computers tucked behind the seats

Stanford engineers have redesigned an iconic 1981 DeLorean with a futuristic feature that Dr. Emmett Brown (left) didn't think of –self-driving capabilities. Pictured is the DeLorean from the film 'Back to the Future'

Stanford engineers have redesigned an iconic 1981 DeLorean with a futuristic feature that Dr. Emmett Brown (left) didn’t think of –self-driving capabilities. Pictured is the DeLorean from the film ‘Back to the Future’

HOW DO SELF-DRIVING CARS ‘SEE’?

Self-driving cars often use a combination of normal two-dimensional cameras and depth-sensing ‘LiDAR’ units to recognise the world around them.

However, others make use of visible light cameras that capture imagery of the roads and streets. 

They are trained with a wealth of information and vast databases of hundreds of thousands of clips which are processed using artificial intelligence to accurately identify people, signs and hazards.   

In LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanning – which is used by Waymo – one or more lasers send out short pulses, which bounce back when they hit an obstacle.

These sensors constantly scan the surrounding areas looking for information, acting as the ‘eyes’ of the car.

While the units supply depth information, their low resolution makes it hard to detect small, faraway objects without help from a normal camera linked to it in real time.

In November last year Apple revealed details of its driverless car system that uses lasers to detect pedestrians and cyclists from a distance.

The Apple researchers said they were able to get ‘highly encouraging results’ in spotting pedestrians and cyclists with just LiDAR data.

They also wrote they were able to beat other approaches for detecting three-dimensional objects that use only LiDAR.

Other self-driving cars generally rely on a combination of cameras, sensors and lasers. 

An example is Volvo’s self driving cars that rely on around 28 cameras, sensors and lasers.

A network of computers process information, which together with GPS, generates a real-time map of moving and stationary objects in the environment.

Twelve ultrasonic sensors around the car are used to identify objects close to the vehicle and support autonomous drive at low speeds.

A wave radar and camera placed on the windscreen reads traffic signs and the road’s curvature and can detect objects on the road such as other road users.

Four radars behind the front and rear bumpers also locate objects.

Two long-range radars on the bumper are used to detect fast-moving vehicles approaching from far behind, which is useful on motorways.

Four cameras – two on the wing mirrors, one on the grille and one on the rear bumper – monitor objects in close proximity to the vehicle and lane markings. 

 

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