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Simulator to Allow Self-Driving Car Testing Off Public Roads

In recent weeks, driver assistance technologies and self-driving cars have come under fire following a series of incidents that lead to one pedestrian and one driver getting killed.
German highway simulation 1 photo
Photo: rFpro
In response to a fatal pedestrian crash, Arizona banned Uber from testing autonomous vehicles on the state’s roads. In California, on the other hand, despite the apparently Tesla Autopilot-related crash that killed a driver, Level 5 autonomous cars can now be legally tested on the public roads.

As an alternative to real-world initial testing of such systems, UK-based rFpro announced it has created what is supposed to be world’s first simulator for autonomous vehicles.

The company says it worked for three years to develop a simulator capable of replicating the real world into a simulation that would allow its users full control over how traffic, pedestrians, weather and location behave.

This feature pretty much beats the point of testing autonomous vehicles in unpredictable conditions, but is a prerequisite before the cars enter testing on public roads.

In California for instance, legislation requires companies, before getting approval to drive autonomous cars on public roads, to prove the systems have been tested under controlled conditions that simulate the environment they are designed for.

“Our platform enables vehicle manufacturers to thoroughly test their technology and be confident in their systems before validation on real roads,” said Chris Hoyle, rFpro technical director.

“The vehicle hardware, such as the cameras and sensors, are already approaching the level required to achieve a fully autonomous world but it is the ‘brain,’ the vehicles ability to make appropriate decisions, that needs to be further developed.”

According to a study by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), by the year 2030, Level 4 and 5 systems will constitute only 4 percent of new vehicles sold on the global market. By 2040, that number is likely to increase to a little over 25%.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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