Exploring Autonomous Vehicle Systems Using Racecar Models

Vehicular autonomy is a growing field that is expected to revolutionize travel in the near future. This is evident in the growing popularity of the self-driving cars engineered by companies such as Waymo and Tesla. This research was conducted to analyze the various systems that operate to make a car’s mobility fully autonomous. Alongside programming autonomous software, a heavy emphasis was placed on software testing. Software testing is an essential part of any engineering design process because it is important to test the algorithms before they are released in the outside world. This research utilized MIT’s RACECAR platform which is a small scale model of an autonomous car. A combination of control systems, image processing, and motion planning allowed the RACECAR to detect obstacles and make self-directed decisions on how to maneuver accordingly. After implementing these systems, the RACECAR was able to autonomously drive through a final obstacle course that tested its ability to fully recognize colors, follow lines on the ground, and follow the general flow of the course. Once fully developed, these autonomous systems will transform the travel industry as they will be further innovated and used in more vehicle types such as planes, rovers, and trains