--- title: "The Fast and the Autonomous: Self-Driving Cars Can Drift Now" description: "Researchers at the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) have modified a Supra that can perform sick drifts around a racetrack — without a driver." date: "2022-02-03" modified: "2022-02-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/autonomous-racecar-drift" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" tags: - "autonomous driving" - "the digest" - "toyota" --- # The Fast and the Autonomous: Self-Driving Cars Can Drift Now ![Researchers at the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) have modified a Supra that can perform sick drifts around a racetrack — without a driver.]() *\Image: TRI\* ## Robio Drift Researchers at the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) have modified a Supra sports to car perform sick drifts around a racetrack — without a driver behind the wheel. While it's extremely fun to watch the sleek vehicle spin its wheels and weave around obstacles, the institute claims it's all in the name of car safety. And no, this unfortunately isn't about creating a chaotic new motorsport — and in the end, they say, it's not even about autonomous driving itself. "At TRI, our goal is to use advanced technologies that augment and amplify humans, not replace them," said Avinash Balachandran, a senior manager at TRI, in [a statement](). https://youtu.be/MfU5_gzqPaM ## Supra Reaction Time Researchers behind the stunt are hoping to glean insights into how professional racecar drivers react in certain situations, like hitting a patch of black ice on the road, and use their learnings to develop future car safety features. "Through this project, we are expanding the region in which a car is controllable," Balachandran explained, "with the goal of giving regular drivers the instinctual reflexes of a professional race car driver to be able to handle the most challenging emergencies and keep people safer on the road." For instance, "when faced with wet or slippery roads, professional drivers may choose to ‘drift’ the car through a turn, but most of us are not professional drivers," said Jonathan Goh, TRI research scientist, in the statement. To make sure it doesn't crash, the vehicle is crunching a huge amount of data, recalculating its route twenty times a second. It can also apply its brakes to each of its four wheels individually. It's an impressive feat of engineering that could one day even save lives. **READ MORE:** [Toyota Research Institute Pushes Vehicle's Capabilities To Advance Active Safety]() \[Toyota Research Institute\] **More on autonomous cars:** *[Watch Tesla's Full Self-Driving Mode Steer Toward Oncoming Highway Traffic]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()