AirSim (Microsoft Research)

AirSim is an open-source simulator developed by Microsoft Research designed to provide realistic visual and physical environments to train artificial intelligence. Instead of human pilots, it is primarily used to safely train autonomous drone flight systems and self-driving algorithms.

Yes, Microsoft Research built AirSim as a plugin for the Unreal Engine, utilizing its advanced rendering capabilities to create photorealistic environments. This allowed developers to test their AI algorithms against simulated weather, lighting, and physical obstacles in a highly realistic 3D world.

In 2021, Microsoft officially archived the original AirSim repository, shifting their active development focus to a newer successor platform called Project AirSim. The original open-source code remains publicly available on GitHub for researchers to use and modify.

Developers typically interface with AirSim to control drones and vehicles using Python or C++ APIs. This allows machine learning algorithms to directly send control inputs to the simulated vehicles and receive massive amounts of sensor data back in real-time.