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Self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles
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Tencent says the simulation shares technology it uses to build games. (Picture: Tencent)

Virtual reality teaches Tencent’s self-driving cars

Computer simulation allows autonomous vehicles to accumulate virtual miles at a far quicker pace than physical road tests

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Testing autonomous cars on real roads can be time-consuming and dangerous. So Tencent is choosing to test-drive their vehicles in virtual reality.

The company’s computer simulation recreates different driving conditions and scenarios, allowing its self-driving algorithm to move through rain, snow, low-light conditions or a crowded three-lane road. Tencent can run the equivalent of 100 autonomous cars, each driving 100,000 km (62,137 miles) a day in the simulation, according to a WeChat post.
Tencent isn’t the first to rack up virtual self-driving miles. Google spinoff Waymo said in July that it had already driven 10 billion miles in simulation. The US company is widely regarded as a global leader in self-driving technology. It launched a commercial ride-hailing service last year with a backup human driver behind the wheel.

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