AUTO MOBILITY Student: Supervisor:
Dean Hado Antonino Di Raimo
Since the turn of the century most modern Architecture has obtained its imagery from designers who are obsessed with machines. This trend can be explained through the fascination that Architects have with aircraft, spacecraft, and the automobile. The futuristic ideas that architects have today for producing architecture which resembles machines must go one step further. Experiences and emotions are becoming more important in the postmodern society. The way in which this thesis is built is to demonstrate that with a single | 278
touch, we can try to solve more than one problem affecting our society. This thesis started by closely considering car racing, and developed into a more complex project. Through a single experimental project, this thesis opts to turn one of the most hidden and yet potential empty areas of Tirana into a blossoming focal points, both socially and economically, by designing a facility for the development of high - performance automobiles. The goal of this facility is to allow a place where the automobile will start as a concept, and be taken to its race in a ready
prototype form. This Research Centre facility will also try to minimize the damage of pollution and accidents by presenting society with the so-called “Car of the Future”. This is the autonomous electric/ hydrogen vehicle, which presents the next decade’s significant challenge for artificial intelligence and control theory. The act of driving is best modeled as a series of sequential decisions made with occasional feedback from the environment. Reinforcement learning is one method whereby the agent successively improves control policies through expe-
rience. The system will use vision data fused with simulated laser range data to detect road markings. The vehicle will use a simulated global measurement sensor to guide it along proportional controllers. These vehicles will firstly be tested in the Autodrome’s facilities. Meanwhile a car racing championship can be arranged once a year with autonomous cars alongside the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing in the world, Formula One Championship (F1).