Is the important thing to autonomous vehicles that don’t run over pedestrians and crash into phone poles a humanoid robotic behind the wheel? A gaggle of researchers on the College of Tokyo suppose so, they usually lay out their argument in a newly published technical paper this week.
The researchers, one in every of whom consults for Toyota, developed and trained a “musculoskeletal humanoid” referred to as Musashi to drive a small electrical automotive by way of a check observe.
Geared up with two cameras standing in for human eyes, Musashi can “see” the highway in entrance of it in addition to the views mirrored within the automotive’s facet mirrors. With its mechanical arms, it may rotate the automotive’s key, pull the handbrake and swap on the flip sign. And, because of its anti-slip “ft,” Musashi can press on the accelerator or brake pedal.
After “educating” Musashi methods to use the automotive’s steering wheel by feeding it uncooked sensor information, the researchers managed to get the robotic to show a nook at an intersection whereas respecting site visitors gentle alerts, they declare.
However there are caveats.
For one, Musashi solely gingerly lifted its “foot” off the brake pedal to show the nook somewhat than faucet the accelerator. This was the results of technical limitations and out of an abundance of warning, the researchers say — however, in consequence, the flip took about two minutes.
Musashi did use the accelerator in a separate experiment, the researchers say. However it had bother sustaining a constant velocity, relying on the steepness of the highway’s incline.
So clearly there’s some work to be executed. Thankfully, the researchers say they’re up for the problem, with plans to develop a next-gen robotic and software program. Perhaps a couple of many years down the road, Musashi can be behind the wheel of your subsequent Tokyo taxi.