Carousel Start

Beyond the Limits

MARTY, the Dynamic Design Lab's electric DeLorean, dodges haybales as it autonomously drifts through a long and challenging obstacle course. By studying how to control a vehicle in these extreme situations, DDL researchers are helping to make autonomous vehicles safer. Learn more

Building Human Values into Automated Vehicles

Researchers at the DDL explore how to incorporate human values into the design of automated vehicles. Engineering decisions, such as the speed at which a vehicle chooses to navigate a pedestrian crosswalk, can have ethical, legal and social implications. Trudi, an automated Ford Fusion, is programmed to balance values such as safety, mobility and legality. Learn more

Learning at the Racetrack

Students in the Dynamic Design Lab develop strategies for driving at the limits of handling using Shelley, an autonomous Audi TTS. Shelley is designed to use all of the available tire friction, enabling future autonomous vehicles to safely negotiate emergency situations. Researchers are working to improve the car's performance by learning from professional race car drivers. Learn more

Connecting Human and Machine

Students from many disciplines around Stanford are using X1, the drive-by-wire electric vehicle, to study how autonomous vehicles interact with human drivers, their environment, and each other. Its modular chassis, four wheel independent steering, and precise sensing capabilities make it a flexible test platform suited to the varying needs of interdisciplinary research. Current topics explored on X1 include autonomous obstacle avoidance, contingency path planning, shared vehicle and human control, and safe multi-vehicle interaction. Learn more

Front Page

About

Welcome to the online home of Stanford University’s Dynamic Design Lab!

Under the direction of Professor Chris Gerdes, we study the design and control of motion, especially as it relates to cars and vehicle safety. Our research blends analytical approaches to vehicle dynamics and control together with experiments in a variety of test vehicles and a healthy appreciation for the talents and demands of human drivers.