ROMA – Created by engineer Luigi Mazzola (formerly Ferrari), it is an innovative Startup that is developing a system capable of recording the driver’s driving style and reproducing it on self-driving cars. Driverless cars will be able to race with the style of the owner or a professional driver, choosing from the catalog of registered profiles. Driving profiles of your idols can be shared, downloaded or purchased online.
How the system works
The system is based on the following hardware and software equipment already normally present on vehicles with different levels of assisted or autonomous driving and integrates them. Sensors for steering angle, torque applied to the steering, steering speed, action on the accelerator and brake pedals, yaw, roll and pitch angles, lateral and longitudinal acceleration. To the sensors is added the software for processing visual signals, sonar and radar that allows these vehicles to understand the surrounding environmental situation. By recording data on these sensors, a driving style is profiled. The driver of the self-driving or semi-autonomous vehicle can subsequently set this driving profile. The startup bases its bet on the fact that the future of cars will be self-driving. Within 10 years, the means driven by artificial intelligence will come to be spread all over the world. According to a study conducted by the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company, in 2030 15% of new registrations will be represented by self-driving cars and 55% by semi-autonomous cars. According to the study, in 2030 there will be a total of 200 million autonomous or semi-autonomous cars circulating in the world. The “Social Self Driving” project fits into this framework, an innovative completely Italian Startup born from an intuition of the engineer Luigi Mazzola (after 20 years in the Ferrari team with 14 world championships, Mazzola is now an entrepreneur, executive coach and company trainer ) and its two co-founders, who will start the first round of financing and development of the project in the next few weeks, also thanks to a patent for which it is the exclusive licensee. It is a system for recording and profiling the driving style of the driver of a vehicle, which allows it to be replicated later, setting it as a driving style to be performed for an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle. In practice, a profile corresponding to a personalized driving style can be set on an autonomous car, and can also be shared with other users through a special cloud platform. The system is able to learn the owner’s driving style. For example, his way of approaching curves, his way of positioning himself on the roadway, the management of gear changes and the like. These aspects are recorded and the software is able to memorize them. The driving style, once memorized, is profiled and can then be replicated, i.e. set as a driving style in the autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle. A vehicle that will therefore proceed following the driver’s style. In short, with this system there will be the possibility of making your vehicle learn the user’s driving style and having him replicate it.
Possible applications
It does not end here. The novelty of this project is that the driving styles stored in the software can then be shared externally, allowing them to be used by other users on other vehicles equipped with the “Social Self Driving” app. It will therefore be possible to create a marketplace (a virtual shop) in which car manufacturers, professional drivers, safe driving instructors, expert motorists and public figures can market their own personalized driving programs, their own driving profiles. “With Social Self Driving we can customize our self-driving car and teach it to behave as if we were driving. Or we could have them replicate the driving style of our idol – explains engineer Luigi Mazzola – and car manufacturers, professional drivers, safe driving instructors, well-known personalities and social influencers can create and review their own personalized driving programs and promote them directly in ‘Social Self Driving’ for immediate download to the system, like any other App “. Although the public is starting, little by little, to get used to the idea of moving on self-driving cars – says Francesco Zanazzi, co-founder – their complete acceptance is still a long way off and this represents a potential problem for car manufacturers that they are investing you. We are convinced that the possibility of interacting more with these cars will allow us to quickly win a great consensus among potential buyers ”. “Social Self Driving – adds Guido Ciapponi, the other co-founder – was also designed to be a great Fan Engagement tool. Brands, car manufacturers, teams and sports personalities, or anyone in the entertainment world who needs to consolidate the emotional relationship with their fans, will be able to benefit from this great market that is about to be born “.
The system was patented on April 22nd and the Startup is about to start the first round of funding to start with the development. You can get more information by visiting www.socialselfdriving.com.
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