A few short years ago, it was one of the most hyped technology fields around. But after all that excitement, where are we now with autonomous vehicles — or driverless cars?

In this episode, we go under the hood to explore how AVs gather and use data, and the complex mathematics that helps them navigate a messy, unpredictable world.

What are the challenges still standing in the way? And how close are we, really, to letting go of the wheel?

Our guest is Professor Michael Milford, Director of the QUT Centre for Robotics – and someone who’s been working on this problem for much of his career.

Our host is Dr James Nichols.

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Papers and Patenting: 

• Self-driving vehicles: Key technical challenges and progress off the road: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/198107/
• Locking On: Leveraging Dynamic Vehicle-Imposed Motion Constraints to Improve Visual Localization: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10341635
• DisPlacing Objects: Improving Dynamic Vehicle Detection via Visual Place Recognition under Adverse Conditions: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10341550
• Granted Vehicle Localization Patent with Ford Motor Corporation: https://patents.google.com/patent/US12217450B2/en

Presentations and Podcasts

• Royal Institute of Navigation: Intro and Brief History of Autonomous Vehicles with Prof Michael Milford: https://youtu.be/KCAwJnKTk-M?feature=shared
• The road ahead for driverless cars: https://www.cielegal.com.au/news/the-road-ahead-for-driverless-cars/

Media and Awards

• Autonomous vehicles research project wins national acclaim: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/faculty-of-engineering/news-and-events?id=192807
• Will fully self-driving cars actually make it to Australia? https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/when-will-self-driving-cars-be-available-in-australia/
• The first places you’re likely to see self-driving cars in Australia: https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/itll-be-the-jetsons-how-artificial-intelligence-is-on-the-cusp-of-revolutionising-road-safety/
• Why Rat-Brained Robots Are So Good at Navigating Unfamiliar Terrain: https://spectrum.ieee.org/why-ratbrained-robots-are-so-good-at-navigating-unfamiliar-terrain