Engineers at Stanford University’s Dynamic Design Lab have taught a 1981 DeLorean to drift, all to improve AV car reactions in hazardous conditions.
MARTY the DeLorean was converted into an all-electric, autonomous drift-car by recent PhD mechanical engineering graduate Jonathan Goh and Design Lab colleagues. Four years after the first autonomous doughnuts, MARTY was able to complete the ‘MARTYkhana’ course without hitting a single cone at the Thunderhill Raceway in California.
The engineers hope the work will help autonomous cars avoid pedestrians and deal with challenging conditions such as driving on slippery surfaces like snow or ice.