What's the news?
It may look like a toy, but this 1/8th scale Audi Q2 is actually probably way more advanced than any real car on the road right now. It's being shown off at the Conference and Workshop on Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) in Barcelona and it's carrying around computing and sensor systems that are actually self learning - so-called Artificial Intelligence, or AI.
Instead of using AI to create a bone-shaped spaceship to go to Jupiter or a life-like robot boy for a whimsical film, Audi is instead using AI to learn how to park better. The Deep Learning Concept searches around a 3x3-metre area for a suitable parking slot and parks itself, time after time, learning with each try how to do it a little better.
Just like us, the computer learns by trial and error, and Audi, through its Audi Electronics Venture and partner company Mobileye, hopes to scale the system up to a full-sized car next year. Some of the tech will find its way into production pretty quickly, and is slated to be part of the software setup for the next-generation A8, which arrives next year.
According to Audi: "AI is essential for dealing with challenging situations such as urban traffic, enabling piloted driving cars to evaluate their complex surroundings and perform the necessary driving manoeuvres." And for Skynet, obviously.
Come with me if you want to park...