Chris Gerdes: The future race car -- 150mph, and no driver

Translator: Morton Bast Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha

翻译人员: Ling Jin 校对人员: Kelvin Wang

So, how many of you have ever

你们当中有多少人

gotten behind the wheel of a car

当你不应该开车的时候

when you really shouldn't have been driving?

还开车跟在另一部车后面？

Maybe you're out on the road for a long day,

有可能你已经开了一整天的车

and you just wanted to get home.

心里只想回家

You were tired, but you felt you could drive a few more miles.

你已经身心疲惫了，但你感觉还能再驾驶多几英里

Maybe you thought,

大概你有想过

I've had less to drink than everybody else,

我喝得没有其他人多

I should be the one to go home.

我可以驾车回家

Or maybe your mind was just entirely elsewhere.

或者也许你的大脑已经在神游

Does this sound familiar to you?

这些你们听起来有点熟悉吧？

Now, in those situations, wouldn't it be great

现在，在这些情况下

if there was a button on your dashboard

如果仪表盘上有一个按钮

that you could push, and the car would get you home safely?

你按一下，车就可以带你安安全全地回家,会不会很棒

Now, that's been the promise of the self-driving car,

如今，这些都是自动汽车能做到的

the autonomous vehicle, and it's been the dream

自动汽车从 1939 年通用汽车公司在世

since at least 1939, when General Motors showcased

通用汽车公司在世界展销会上展示他们未来汽车的的理念

this idea at their Futurama booth at the World's Fair.

就一直是一个梦想

Now, it's been one of those dreams

现在，它已成为那些看起来

that's always seemed about 20 years in the future.

总是还要再等20年的梦想之一

Now, two weeks ago, that dream took a step forward,

两个星期前，这个梦想有了突破

when the state of Nevada granted Google's self-driving car

当内华达州授予谷歌的自驾汽车

the very first license for an autonomous vehicle,

第一个无人驾驶的上路许可证，

clearly establishing that it's legal for them

明确地表示他们在内华达州道路上

to test it on the roads in Nevada.

测试是合法的

Now, California's considering similar legislation,

现在，加州的也正在考虑类似的立法，

and this would make sure that the autonomous car

这将确保无人驾驶汽车

is not one of those things that has to stay in Vegas.

不会像赌博这类事一样只会发生在拉斯维加斯。

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Now, in my lab at Stanford, we've been working on

现在，在我在斯坦福大学的实验室里，我们也一直在

autonomous cars too, but with a slightly different spin

研究无人驾驶汽车，但在对事物研究的理念上略有不同

on things. You see, we've been developing robotic race cars,

我们一直在开发机器人赛车

cars that can actually push themselves to the very limits

它们在性能上可以

of physical performance.

到达其物理极限

Now, why would we want to do such a thing?

那么为什么我们想要做这样的事呢？

Well, there's two really good reasons for this.

嗯，有两个好的理由来解释

First, we believe that before people turn over control

第一，我们认为在人完全将控制交给

to an autonomous car, that autonomous car should be

一部无人驾驶汽车之前，这部无人驾驶汽车

at least as good as the very best human drivers.

至少得运行得像一位好的驾驶员一样

Now, if you're like me, and the other 70 percent of the population

那么，如果你像我，还有那其他70%的人一样

who know that we are above-average drivers,

认为我们是高于平均水平的司机

you understand that's a very high bar.

你明白我们高估了自己

There's another reason as well.

同时还有另一个原因

Just like race car drivers can use all of the friction

就像赛车手可以利用

between the tire and the road,

车胎和路面间所有的摩擦

all of the car's capabilities to go as fast as possible,

还有汽车的最大性能来尽可能快的开一样

we want to use all of those capabilities to avoid

我们想用这些性能来避免

any accident we can.

任何我们可以避免的交通事故

Now, you may push the car to the limits

现在，你可能把车开到极限

not because you're driving too fast,

并不是说你开得太快

but because you've hit an icy patch of road,

而是说你开到有冰的路面上了

conditions have changed.

路况变了

In those situations, we want a car

在这些情况下，我们希望这部汽车

that is capable enough to avoid any accident

有能力避免任何那些

that can physically be avoided.

人工可以避免的意外

I must confess, there's kind of a third motivation as well.

我必须承认，还有第三个理由

You see, I have a passion for racing.

你瞧，我对赛车很痴迷

In the past, I've been a race car owner,

过去，我曾拥有一部赛车

a crew chief and a driving coach,

是一个车队的头，也是驾校教练

although maybe not at the level that you're currently expecting.

虽然也许水平没有你期待得那么高

One of the things that we've developed in the lab --

我们在实验室中做的几件事中的一件--

we've developed several vehicles --

就是我们开发了几部车--

is what we believe is the world's first

我们相信他们是世界上

autonomously drifting car.

第一步无人漂移汽车

It's another one of those categories

它是无人车中新的分类

where maybe there's not a lot of competition.

也许它还没有竞争对手

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But this is P1. It's an entirely student-built electric vehicle,

我们叫它P1。它是一部完全由学生设计的

which through using its rear-wheel drive

后轮驱动电动车

and front-wheel steer-by-wire

线控方向盘

can drift around corners.

可以在拐角漂移

It can get sideways like a rally car driver,

它能像一个汽车拉力赛选手一样从路边过

always able to take the tightest curve,

也从能转过急弯

even on slippery, changing surfaces,

即使在湿滑，不断变化的路面

never spinning out.

也从来不会打滑被甩出去

We've also worked with Volkswagen Oracle,

我们也曾与大众 Oracle合作出研发

on Shelley, an autonomous race car that has raced

一部叫” 谢莉“的无人驾驶赛车

at 150 miles an hour through the Bonneville Salt Flats,

它能用每小时 150 英里的速度沿着邦纳维尔盐滩行驶

gone around Thunderhill Raceway Park in the sun,

能在阳关明媚时，能在大风大雨天

the wind and the rain,

跑在 Thunderhill 赛车跑道上

and navigated the 153 turns and 12.4 miles

并在Pikes Peak Hill Climb 线路上

of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb route

开12.4英里，通过153拐弯处

in Colorado with nobody at the wheel.

这是在科罗拉多州，真的一个人都没在车上

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

I guess it goes without saying that we've had a lot of fun

我想我们不用说

doing this.

这样做真的有很多乐趣

But in fact, there's something else that we've developed

但事实上，我们还研发了一些其它的东西

in the process of developing these autonomous cars.

在这个研发无人驾驶汽车的过程中

We have developed a tremendous appreciation

我们对人类赛车手的能力

for the capabilities of human race car drivers.

变的更加的的钦佩

As we've looked at the question of how well do these cars perform,

当我们想这些车可以运作的多好时候

we wanted to compare them to our human counterparts.

我们想把无人驾驶车和人类驾驶的操作做一个比较

And we discovered their human counterparts are amazing.

我们发现执行任务的人类是不可思议的

Now, we can take a map of a race track,

现在，我们可以拿一张赛车跑道图

we can take a mathematical model of a car,

我们可以做一个数字模型车

and with some iteration, we can actually find

加上一些迭代，我们可以找到

the fastest way around that track.

整个跑道的最快路径

We line that up with data that we record

我们把一个职业赛车手开车数据记录下来

from a professional driver,

进行直线图表分析

and the resemblance is absolutely remarkable.

相似度是那样的惊人

Yes, there are subtle differences here,

是的，这里还是有细微的差别的

but the human race car driver is able to go out

赛车手能够在户外

and drive an amazingly fast line,

开到最快的那条线路

without the benefit of an algorithm that compares

而不用计算程序去比较

the trade-off between going as fast as possible

是该在这个拐弯出开快点

in this corner, and shaving a little bit of time

还是应该在开过这个

off of the straight over here.

直线的时候减点速

Not only that, they're able to do it lap

不但如此，他们能如此地开一圈

after lap after lap.

一圈又一圈

They're able to go out and consistently do this,

他们能在户外，持续地这么做

pushing the car to the limits every single time.

每一次都把车用到极限

It's extraordinary to watch.

看起来真的不可思议

You put them in a new car,

你给他们换部车

and after a few laps, they've found the fastest line in that car,

在跑几个圈后他们就已经能找到适合车的最快的路线

and they're off to the races.

接着，他们就可以比赛了

It really makes you think,

这不禁使你想

we'd love to know what's going on inside their brain.

我们真的很想知道他们大脑里究竟发生了什么

So as researchers, that's what we decided to find out.

作为研究人员说，这就是我们决定要挖据的

We decided to instrument not only the car,

我们决定测量不仅仅是车

but also the race car driver,

还有赛车手

to try to get a glimpse into what was going on

尝试去了解在他们赛车时候

in their head as they were doing this.

他们大脑的变化

Now, this is Dr. Lene Harbott applying electrodes

现在，这是 琳恩·哈博特博士把电极片

to the head of John Morton.

放在约翰 · 莫顿的头上的照片

John Morton is a former Can-Am and IMSA driver,

约翰 · 莫顿是前Can-Am 和IMSA的赛车手

who's also a class champion at Le Mans.

他也是勒芒赛事上出类拔萃的冠军

Fantastic driver, and very willing to put up with graduate students

极棒的赛车手，并且愿意忍受研究生

and this sort of research.

和这类的研究

She's putting electrodes on his head

她把电极片放在他的头上

so that we can monitor the electrical activity

这样，我们可以监测当约翰绕着轨道飚车时候

in John's brain as he races around the track.

他大脑电波的活动

Now, clearly we're not going to put a couple of electrodes on his head

显然我们不是放一对电极片在他头上

and understand exactly what all of his thoughts are on the track.

就可以准确的了解到他在跑道上飚车时候所有的想法

However, neuroscientists have identified certain patterns

然而，神经学家已经可以识别了一定的模式

that let us tease out some very important aspects of this.

让我们对这个研究中一些非常重要的因素能理出头绪

For instance, the resting brain

例如，休息中的大脑

tends to generate a lot of alpha waves.

往往会产生大量的α波

In contrast, theta waves are associated with

与此相反，θ波与大量认知活动

a lot of cognitive activity, like visual processing,

相关联，如视觉处理

things where the driver is thinking quite a bit.

赛车手正在想的事，很多

Now, we can measure this,

现在，我们可以测量这一点

and we can look at the relative power

我们可以看到

between the theta waves and the alpha waves.

θ波与α波之间的相对动力

This gives us a measure of mental workload,

这给我们了脑力负荷的一个测试

how much the driver is actually challenged cognitively

在轨道上任何一个地方，赛车手实际上

at any point along the track.

需要接受多少认知上的挑战

Now, we wanted to see if we could actually record this

现在，我们想看看我们是否能真实地在跑道上

on the track, so we headed down south to Laguna Seca.

记录这点，所以我们向南出发去卡赛道

Laguna Seca is a legendary raceway

卡赛道是有传奇色彩的赛道

about halfway between Salinas and Monterey.

大约在萨利纳斯和蒙特雷的中间

It has a curve there called the Corkscrew.

它有一道弯被称为瓶塞钻

Now, the Corkscrew is a chicane, followed by a quick

现在，这个瓶塞钻是一个S 形弯道

right-handed turn as the road drops three stories.

接下来是一个很急的右转弯与此同时路面好像下陷3层楼那么高

Now, the strategy for driving this as explained to me was,

现在，可以理解这个驾驶的策略为

you aim for the bush in the distance,

你以远处的灌木丛为目标

and as the road falls away, you realize it was actually the top of a tree.

当你感到跑道向下落的时候，你才意识到你其实是在树尖上

All right, so thanks to the Revs Program at Stanford,

很好，非常感谢斯坦福大学的自驾车研究项目

we were able to take John there

我们把约翰带到哪里了

and put him behind the wheel

让他 主宰1960年

of a 1960 Porsche Abarth Carrera.

保时捷的阿巴特卡雷拉的方向盘

Life is way too short for boring cars.

大家对一般的车的喜好就像昙花一现一样

So, here you see John on the track,

所以，在这里你看到约翰在赛道上

he's going up the hill -- Oh! Somebody liked that --

他在爬坡， 哦 ！有人也喜欢来这里飚车 — —

and you can see, actually, his mental workload

实际上，你可以看到一条红的长方形条

-- measuring here in the red bar --

正在监测他的脑力负荷--

you can see his actions as he approaches.

随着他的移动，你可以看到他的反映

Now watch, he has to downshift.

现在看看，他不得不换到低档。

And then he has to turn left.

然后他必须左转。

Look for the tree, and down.

看清楚路旁的树，然后下坡。

Not surprisingly, you can see this is a pretty challenging task.

没什么可大惊小怪的，您可以看到这是一个非常有挑战性的任务

You can see his mental workload spike as he goes through this,

你可以看到当他经历这一切的时候，他的大脑负荷增加了

as you would expect with something that requires

你会预测到

this level of complexity.

这种复杂程度会产生的事

But what's really interesting is to look at areas of the track

但是真正有趣的事是看

where his mental workload doesn't increase.

不会使他脑力负荷增加的一些赛道的区域

I'm going to take you around now

我将带你绕到

to the other side of the track.

赛道的另外一半

Turn three. And John's going to go into that corner

数三下，约翰将开到拐角

and the rear end of the car is going to begin to slide out.

汽车的尾部将会滑出轨道

He's going to have to correct for that with steering.

他将不得不打方向盘使车回到轨道

So watch as John does this here.

所以看好约翰是怎么操作的

Watch the mental workload, and watch the steering.

看看他的脑负荷，和方向盘

The car begins to slide out, dramatic maneuver to correct it,

赛车开始滑出去了，戏剧性的操作使它回到轨道上了，

and no change whatsoever in the mental workload.

而大脑负荷却丝毫没有变化

Not a challenging task.

这不是一个具有挑战性的任务

In fact, entirely reflexive.

实际上，完全是条件的放射

Now, our data processing on this is still preliminary,

现在，我们对此的数据处理仍是初步的阶段

but it really seems that these phenomenal feats

但这现象明显表明

that the race car drivers are performing

这些赛车手表现出来的惊人水平

are instinctive.

是其本能

They are things that they have simply learned to do.

这些事对他们来说孰能生巧了

It requires very little mental workload

对他们来说完成这样了不起的事

for them to perform these amazing feats.

只需要很少的大脑负荷。

And their actions are fantastic.

他们表现真的很棒

This is exactly what you want to do on the steering wheel

当车遇到这种情况时候

to catch the car in this situation.

你想做到的就是去控制好车

Now, this has given us tremendous insight

现在，这给我们的无人驾驶汽车的研究

and inspiration for our own autonomous vehicles.

有了巨大的启示和灵感

We've started to ask the question:

我们已经开始问自己

Can we make them a little less algorithmic

我们可以使我们的自驾车少一点计算程序

and a little more intuitive?

而多一点直觉性的东西吗？

Can we take this reflexive action

我们能借助

that we see from the very best race car drivers,

我们现在从最好赛车手身上看到的这种对条件反射的反应

introduce it to our cars,

从而把它运用到我们的车上吗

and maybe even into a system that could

再或者运用到你们

get onto your car in the future?

未来车子的系统里？

That would take us a long step

我们还需要很大的努力

along the road to autonomous vehicles

来研制出和最棒的车手一样的

that drive as well as the best humans.

无人驾驶汽车

But it's made us think a little bit more deeply as well.

它同时使我们从更深的层面去思考

Do we want something more from our car

我们想让我们的车为我们做得更多

than to simply be a chauffeur?

而不是简简单单地一个驾驶员吗？

Do we want our car to perhaps be a partner, a coach,

我们想让我们的车成我们的伙伴，教练

someone that can use their understanding of the situation

或者是能了解到周围环境的那个人

to help us reach our potential?

从而帮助我们发挥我们的潜力吗？

Can, in fact, the technology not simply replace humans,

那么科技能不能不只是简单的取代人类

but allow us to reach the level of reflex and intuition

而且可以让我们达到

that we're all capable of?

我们都能达到的直觉的反应水平？

So, as we move forward into this technological future,

所以，当我们向这个科技时代迈进的时候

I want you to just pause and think of that for a moment.

我想你停下来思考一会

What is the ideal balance of human and machine?

什么是人类和机器之间最理想的平衡

And as we think about that,

当我们思考时候

let's take inspiration

让我们用

from the absolutely amazing capabilities

人类身体和大脑的

of the human body and the human mind.

了不起的能力来激发自己

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

(掌声)