Polyphony Digital has teamed up with Sony AI to develop Sophy, an advanced AI racing agent that uses speed, skill, and racing etiquette to compete with highly skilled human opponents. Gran Turismo games aren’t renowned for having believable AI opponents, but Sophy AI could finally change that.
After the AI agent was unveiled earlier this year, a new video shows off Sophy’s impressive capabilities as it competes with the world’s best Gran Turismo 7 players.
GT Sophy shown off at World Series exhibition races
During the GT World Series 2022 Showdown in Salzburg, Austria, Sophy AI was trained to race with the world’s fastest GT drivers in a series of exhibition races. These exhibition races can now be watched in their entirety.
GT Sophy uses a deep reinforcement learning platform created by Polyphony Digital, Sony AI, and Sony Interactive Entertainment. It’s certainly come a long way since development started two years ago.
Back then, Sophy AI couldn’t complete a full lap. Now, it’s capable of racing with the best GT drivers in the world including World Series champions Valerio Gallo, Igor Fraga, Tomoaki Yamanaka, and Emily Jones.
The Sophy AI exhibition races were held on the Sardegna - Windmills dirt circuit and Autodrome Lago circuit. Notably, this is the first time GT Sophy has competed on an off-road course in public, so this was an effective showcase of how the AI can adapt to different conditions.
It’s fair to say GT Sophy was a formidable opponent for the human drivers. Both Sophy AI cars beat the human players in the dirt race with a one-two finish, despite the GT7 driver’s best efforts to attack and defend.
The tables were turned, in the asphalt race, however with Valerio Gallo taking the lead followed closely by one of the Sophy AI cars in a nail-biting finish.
Gran Turismo 7 could get Sophy AI upgrade by the end of 2022
Sophy AI will be added to Gran Turismo 7 in a “future update” according to Polyphony Digital.
During a livestream of the World Series Showdown Nations Cup, the official Gran Turismo TV YouTube channel responded to a comment saying the GT7 AI update will arrive “before the end of the year if all goes well.”
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