While Nvidia may be best known as a leader in the computer and gaming industries, the Silicon Valley-based company is also developing advanced self-driving software.
Recently showcased by the company on its YouTube channel during testing, Nvidia’s self-driving system utilizes deep learning in order to mimic the inputs which a driver would make in any given situation.
To showcase this, the firm put its test vehicle on a technical circuit far more difficult to drive than a motorway where current semi-autonomous systems thrive. Rather than simply making minor steering adjustments through flowing and open roads, Nvidia’s test vehicle was able to safely manoeuvre blind corners on unmarked roads and even avoid obstacles like traffic cones.
It doesn’t even have difficult driving on different surfaces, including grass and dirt, even if it is pitch black and raining.
According to Nvidia, “All it takes is about twenty example runs driven by humans at different times of the day. Learning to drive in these complex environments demonstrates new capabilities of deep neural networks.”