Remember When Toyota Pioneered Autonomous Drifting?

We’ve seen the bulk of autonomous driving technology aimed at A to B transportation (among other things), but autonomous drifting is as left-field as it gets in the realm of autonomous mobility.

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Autonomous

Image: Toyota

“Through this project, we are expanding the region in which a car is controllable, with the goal of giving regular drivers the instinctual reflexes of a professional race car driver to be able to handle the most challenging emergencies and keep people safer on the road.” – Avinash Balachandran, senior manager of TRI’s Human Centric Driving Research

In 2022, Toyota’s Research Institute published a video that showcased a heavily revised Toyota Supra drifting around a race track without any input from the occupant in the driver’s seat. This auto-drift Supra test mule features a computer-controlled steering wheel, throttle, clutch, sequential transmission and an individual wheel braking system. Additionally, this Supra testy mule relies on an upgraded suspension, a modified powerplant, an upgraded chassis and a transmission akin to the level of technology used in the upper echelons of Formula Drift.

Related: Toyota’s Race-Ready GRMN Supra Test Mule Spotted

Autonomous

Image: Toyota

Knowledge of vehicle dynamics and drifting-specific design insights corralled and implemented via a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control system, allows the Supra to effortlessly transition from drifting around a race track to pure grip driving. The software used in the auto-drift Supra is capable of calculating a new trajectory every 20th of a second to ensure optimal balance as the car careens sideways around a track.

“When faced with wet or slippery roads, professional drivers may choose to ‘drift’ the car through a turn, but most of us are not professional drivers. That’s why TRI is programming vehicles that can identify obstacles and autonomously drift around obstacles on a closed track.” – Jonathan Goh, TRI research scientist

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The post Remember When Toyota Pioneered Autonomous Drifting? appeared first on CAR Magazine.


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