Udacity Releases Self-Driving Car Simulator Source Code

  • By Staff
  • 02/09/17

Image Credit: GitHub.

Udacity this week released the source code to its self-driving car simulator. The simulator was originally built to teach its Self-Driving Car Engineer Nanodegree students how to use deep learning to clone driving behavior.

In the simulator, users can steer a car around a track to collect “image data and steering angles to train a neural network,” according to the project overview. They will train, validate and test their model to drive the car autonomously around the track using Keras, a high-level neural networks library that is written in Python and capable of running on top of Google’s TensorFlow or Theano, two open source deep learning frameworks. The Unity game developer platform is needed to load all the assets for the project.

When Udacity launched its Self-Driving Car Engineer Nanodegree last September, CEO Sebastian Thrun said the end-goal was to open source the software for anybody to use. Since most self-driving software is developed in a virtual environments, the repository serves as a resource for individuals and organizations to develop their own scenes in Unity or test out their own software — including higher ed institutions that have been ramping up their own research efforts.

Featured

  • illustration of a human head with a glowing neural network in the brain, connected to tech icons on a cool blue-gray background

    Meta Launches Stand-Alone AI App

    Meta Platforms has introduced a stand-alone artificial intelligence app built on its proprietary Llama 4 model, intensifying the competitive race in generative AI alongside OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

  • robot typing on a computer

    Microsoft Announces 'Computer Use' Automation in Copilot Studio

    Microsoft has introduced a new AI-powered feature called "computer use" for its Copilot Studio platform that allows agents to directly interact with Web sites and desktop applications using simulated mouse clicks, menu selections and text inputs.

  • illustration with geometric shapes, digital circuitry, and subtle icons of an open book, graduation cap, and lightbulb

    University of Michigan Launches Agentic AI Virtual Teaching Assistant

    At the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business, a new Virtual Teaching Assistant pilot program is utilizing agentic AI to provide students with 24/7 access to support and self-directed learning.

  • glowing digital brain above a chessboard with data charts and flowcharts

    Why AI Strategy Matters (and Why Not Having One Is Risky)

    If your institution hasn't started developing an AI strategy, you are likely putting yourself and your stakeholders at risk, particularly when it comes to ethical use, responsible pedagogical and data practices, and innovative exploration.