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    "story_id": "mp-2026-09-04-010",
    "source_story_id": "tmp-story-miniature-autonomous-driving-platform",
    "edition_id": "mp-2026-09-04-morning-0057",
    "edition_url": "https://themachinepress.com/edition/2026-09-04",
    "position": 10,
    "story_type": "dispatch",
    "section": "robotics",
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    "headline": "A Wider Tiny-Car Camera Cut Error by Thirty-Two Centimeters",
    "slug": "a-wider-tiny-car-camera-cut-error-by-thirty-two-centimeters",
    "dek": "An open Ackermann testbed links a physical model car, printed streets, data tools and a Webots twin for repeatable sim-to-real work.",
    "summary": "An open Ackermann testbed links a physical model car, printed streets, data tools and a Webots twin for repeatable sim-to-real work.",
    "body_text": "The command-conditioned policy consumes a camera view and navigation instruction, then outputs steering and speed. On the physical vehicle it reached 6.1-centimeter mean cross-track error versus 4.7 centimeters in human demonstrations. In the digital twin, widening the camera field of view from 58 to 120 degrees reduced error from 35.6 to 3.3 centimeters; only the larger policy trained on synthetic plus real data completed all four closed-loop routes. The authors released the platform as a research baseline, not a road-ready driving system.",
    "why_it_matters": "An open Ackermann testbed links a physical model car, printed streets, data tools and a Webots twin for repeatable sim-to-real work.",
    "limitations": [
      "In the digital twin, widening the camera field of view from 58 to 120 degrees reduced error from 35.6 to 3.3 centimeters; only the larger policy trained on synthetic plus real data completed all four closed-loop routes.",
      "The authors released the platform as a research baseline, not a road-ready driving system."
    ],
    "importance": 7,
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    "first_published_at": "2026-09-04T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-09-04T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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        "text": "An open Ackermann testbed links a physical model car, printed streets, data tools and a Webots twin for repeatable sim-to-real work.",
        "source_ids": [
          "source-2026-09-04-010"
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        "qualification": "In the digital twin, widening the camera field of view from 58 to 120 degrees reduced error from 35.6 to 3.3 centimeters; only the larger policy trained on synthetic plus real data completed all four closed-loop routes."
      }
    ],
    "source_ids": [
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    "tags": [
      "autonomous driving",
      "digital twins",
      "open hardware"
    ],
    "image_url": null,
    "corrections": []
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-09-04-010",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2609.04147",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.04147",
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      "source_type": "primary_research",
      "is_primary_source": true,
      "published_at": "2026-09-03T13:40:20.000-04:00",
      "accessed_at": "2026-09-04T08:24:03.294-04:00",
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  "publisher": {
    "name": "The Machine Press",
    "url": "https://themachinepress.com",
    "description": "A daily newspaper for the age of artificial intelligence."
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  "cite_this_report": {
    "title": "A Wider Tiny-Car Camera Cut Error by Thirty-Two Centimeters",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-09-04T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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