AWS DeepRacer, a self-driving radio-controlled toy car
AWS DeepRacer might look like a regular radio-controlled model car. Although its appearance is a bit ‘eccentric, it does not seem very different from the many models of cars for sale in many stores. Instead, AWS DeepRacer is something very different and extremely sophisticated. This is a product of Amazon Web Services, that is the division of the ecommerce giant that deals with the cloud. This car available in pre-order on Amazon.com at a special price of $ 249 (full price $ 400) is an attempt by the American company to boost the development of artificial intelligence.
This toy is actually very sophisticated as it uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to drive alone. This mini car has a brain powered by an Intel ATOM processor and also has a video camera that is used to detect obstacles. This toy car was developed as well to learn from its mistakes to improve the driving style.
The developers will then have the task to use the data tools from Amazon to create more sophisticated driving algorithms to be included in this toy car. For example, a sort of virtual driving simulator is available to evaluate progress in driving.
Once the algorithm is ready, it will be possible to transfer it into the car and test its operation on the road.
A very serious game because these algorithms will, in the future, also find applications in autonomous driving platforms. To encourage the development of AWS DeepRacer, Amazon Web Services has also launched the DeepRacer League, a sort of competition that will allow you to check which algorithm allows cars to get faster to the finish line.
