VR for self-driving cars makes training safer, more efficient

Software that acts like a virtual reality (VR) headset for self-driving cars could make training autonomous vehicles faster and safer. The challenge: Aside from freeing us from tedious commutes, self-driving cars could potentially make our roads much safer by eliminating the possibility of human error leading to an accident. Typically, developers do this by testing their self-driving cars on public roads, with safety backup drivers behind the wheel. More importantly, if self-driving cars make mistakes during on-road training, they can potentially destroy property or even take lives. Researchers at the Ohio State University (OSU) have now unveiled a new method for training self-driving cars that works like virtual reality for autonomous vehicles (AVs), making the AIs “think” the car is in one place when it’s actually in another.