Yet - as we speak - Tesla is hiring people for Unreal 4 based simulation... for Autopilot.
Guess we will see. Artificial Intelligence is the hardest part to write in games. Making the bad guys act on their environment in a human fashion without cheating (supplying more information to the bad guy than they actually have access to) is difficult. But acting in a logical human manor is easy to simulate in cars. Obey the laws. Done.
For AV's you need Artificial Stupidity. While not completely random acts, humans do really stupid stuff while driving, and much of it is predictable. Example: You see a driver who is going slower than traffic, in the left lane, who speeds up and slows down as buildings and intersections appear. The driver is probably looking for a building or street. They can suddenly without warning turn left, right across lanes, or stop at random. Or they are just old, drunk, or texting. A human can easily ID these threats. They are seldom random. ie - the car doesn't drive at the correct speed with steady lane position and then swerve across 2 lanes to make a right.
If you programmed a car to assume all drivers are using Random Stupidity, you'd never get anywhere. You identify the Stupidity threat, and act accordingly, but do not treat other cars that way.
But there are literally hundreds of Stupidity Tells, not just lost drivers. Experienced motorists are so used to detecting Stupid, that we don't even think about much unless it's severe. Somebody at a cross street, will they pull out in front of you deliberately? Car backing out a driveway, can they see you? Car approaching intersection at high speed as the light goes yellow, will they floor it and run the red? I probably see a potential accident every day that is averted by a driver with a good nose for Stupid, it's a common survival trait.
I have a hunch that game designers have not studied Artificial Stupidity much. Ever see a computer-generated enemy forget the safety is on? Or their gun jams from lack of cleaning? Or they accidentally shoot another computer-generated enemy because they are jumpy?
Last edited: