Microsoft open sources its drone simulator which lets you crash robots, self-driving cars

No arguments here that drones will slowly and steadily, become an integral part of our transportation. In an attempt to aid this process, Microsoft wants to help. The company’s latest AI project will offer developers a set of tools with which, it will have the ability to train robots and drones. A beta version for the same is available on GitHub via an open source license.

The company says that it is a part of a research project the team dubs Aerial Informatics and Robotics Platform. It includes software that allows researchers to write code to control aerial robots and other gadgets and a highly realistic simulator to collect data for training an AI system and testing it in the virtual world before deploying it in the real world.

What makes Microsoft’s tool special is its advanced and accurate reflection for navigation. It is because the new simulators are said to be realistic – but not actually real – researchers can, in turn, use it as a safe, reliable and cheap testing ground for autonomous systems.

This could prove to be a better bet the simulators which have existed up until now, which help test drone paths and prepare devices for autonomous operations.  

Ashish Kapoor, Microsoft researcher who is leading the project, said that they hope the tools will spawn major progress in creating artificial intelligence gadgets we can trust to drive our cars, deliver our packages and maybe even do our laundry. He stated, “The aspirational goal is really to build systems that can operate in the real world.”