HUMDA Lab's Remote Driving Pilot project for autonomous racing has come to an end an important step for the company [...]
HUMDA Lab's main research activity is research on autonomous driving algorithms. The aim is to develop a self-driving algorithm that can manoeuvre a vehicle at the limit of tyre grip and complete a lap of a racetrack in the shortest possible time. The development is expected to have value beyond motorsport, for example in everyday life, when an autonomous vehicle can be manoeuvered to avoid an accident by an algorithm with the capabilities of a race pilot.
In connection with the main research activity, the Lab is carrying out several reference projects, one of which is the Remote Driving Pilot project. The Digital Development Center of Széchenyi István University has joined the project. The aim was to control a racing car remotely - from a simulator cockpit - which provided very important experience and research knowledge about the actuator, sensor and communication systems needed to control the vehicle.
In order to control a race car remotely, we need a low-latency telecommunications network to transmit telemetry signals from the vehicle and control information to the vehicle, and we also need to be able to update all the controls in the vehicle that would otherwise be operated by a pilot. The tests were carried out using Telekom's 5G network.
The teleoperation feature can also be used directly for autonomous driving algorithm research, as it is useful to have this feature in the race car in the initial phase, when it is not yet guaranteed that the algorithm can run through the track without errors. In everyday life, when we are testing autonomous driving vehicles on the road, there is also a justification for tele-operation, as it allows a human driver to assist remotely in traffic situations that are difficult for artificial intelligence.
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