“Our vision is to create an AI-ready simulation platform that enables autonomy, during all phases of flight,” says Ganesh Rao, General Manager, Autonomous Systems at Microsoft.
“Building autonomy requires AI, which requires large amounts of AI-ready data. Project AirSim brings together the power of cloud and AI at a flexible scale, and the creation of new simulation capabilities in combination with existing ones to generate AI-ready data at scale, and build custom machine learning models using MLOps. The modularity and open aspect of Unreal Engine helped us with these goals.”
The entire simulation industry is entering a new era where emerging technologies are increasing the capabilities of artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. Being able to ingest very large data-rich environments in real time in Unreal Engine enables companies to test these capabilities in realistic scenarios so that autonomous vehicles of all kinds are fully trained for real-word interaction.
The Unreal Engine community of developers and its partner ecosystem create an extended team to assist companies who use the platform for their simulated training grounds. “Having an ecosystem of designers, developers, and game creators helped us tap into the knowledge and create a wide variety of scenarios, from warehouses to the African Savanna, with various vehicle form factors,” says Ade Famoti, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships – Project AirSim.
Microsoft says the potential use cases for Project AirSim are almost limitless: next-gen transportation such as eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing), inspecting powerlines and ports, ferrying packages and people in crowded cities, and operating deep inside cramped mines or high above farmlands are just some examples.
Leveraging Unreal Engine Project AirSim is enabling the industry surrounding autonomous training to move closer toward scalable commercial operation.
“We are at the cusp of a transformation in aerial mobility as we know it,” says Ganesh. “Project AirSim is a critical tool that lets businesses build, test, and enhance solutions in a virtual environment before safely deploying in the real world.”.
Visit the Unreal Engine Simulation page to learn more about how Unreal Engine is transforming and enhancing the training of autonomous vehicles. Source: Unreal Engine Blog