Evolutionary development of electronic stability program for a simulated car in TORCS environment

We propose an approach of applying genetic programming (GP) for automated development of electronic stability program (ESP) of a car, realistically simulated in The Open Source Racing Car Simulator (TORCS). ESP facilitates the yaw rotation of an unstable (e.g., understeering or oversteering) car in slippery road conditions by applying asymmetric braking forces to its wheels. In the proposed approach, the amount of ESP-induced braking force is evolved — via GP — as an algebraic function of the parameters, pertinent to the state of the car, and their derivatives. The experimental results suggest that, compared to the car without ESP, the best evolved ESP offers a superior controllability — in terms of both (i) a smaller deviation from the ideal trajectory and (ii) faster average speed on a given, “snowy” test track. Presented work could be viewed as step towards the verification of the feasibility of GP for automated development of ESP. Also, we hope that the ESP, as a contributed new functionality of TORCS, would enrich the experience of gamers by adding an enhanced controllability of their cars in challenging road conditions.