Engineers from Stanford’s Dynamic Design Lab have converted a 1981 DMC DeLorean into an electric autonomous drifting beast, called “MARTY.” The team developed MARTY intending to improve how autonomous cars handle themselves in hazardous conditions, difficult situations and to have the precision and agility of a human driver, or better.
MARTY, which stands for Multiple Actuator Research Testbed for Yaw control, goes sideways as it goes forward with a smooth transition. The team, Jon Goh and Chris Gerdes plus colleagues, took MARTY out for a trial run along an obstacle course built with cones. The car screeched its way through turns and donuts, kicking up smoke and bits of rubber, without hitting a single cone.
One of the most common questions with self-driving vehicles is, will the cars ever be as competent as human drivers? MARTY has flipped this question around to “will humans ever be as competent as autonomous electric vehicles?”
Gerdes said:
We’re trying to develop automated vehicles that can handle emergency maneuvers or slippery surfaces like ice or snow. We’d like to develop automated vehicles that can use all of the friction between the tire and the road to get the car out of harm’s way. We want the car to be able to avoid any accident that’s avoidable within the laws of physics.
As a safety hazard to prevent commercial cars from entering unstable states, they are equipped with Electronic Stability Control systems. However, these unstable states are where drifters thrive. By harnessing the instability, drifters can maneuver in precision.
Gerdes, quotes the classic line from Back to the Future, about MARTY:
The way we see it if you’re going to build a research vehicle, why not do it with some style?
MARTY may look like a typical DeLorean, but much has changed of John DeLorean’s original design, only the iconic stainless-steel shell remains. Two electric motors and stout batteries, developed by Renovo, in the rear axle, replace the underpowered drivetrain. The original suspension was not adequate to hold a decent drift, so the team fabricated a new one that could take on the task. Electronic systems replaced mechanical steering, braking, and throttle. MARTY also has a pair of GPS antennae on the roof, a roll cage, and the entire system runs on computers tucked behind the seats.
Check out the video below and see MARTY in action as it speeds and drifts through the obstacle course with perfection.
