As efforts to deploy autonomous vehicles heat up, competitors are unleashing fleets of test vehicles in the real world. But they are also spending as much time — or in some cases more — training their systems within the safe confines of simulation.
One company favoring simulation is Waabi, a Toronto-based startup founded by Uber Advanced Technologies Group veteran Raquel Urtasun.
"I believe our approach will move us closer to a commercial product rapidly," she tells Automotive News. "And while we are building, I intend to lead the industry in transparency and accountability so that by the time we've reached our milestones, society is ready to move forward with us."
The company is using its Waabi World driving simulator as a key step in its efforts to create and market a self-driving system it calls the Waabi Driver.
The Waabi World simulator mimics real-world traffic situations. It functions like a brain by storing information on how to safely react to these situations, including edge or corner cases. The simulator's software incorporates this learned knowledge into the Waabi Driver that's under development.