Autonomous driving requires operation in different behavioral modes ranging
from lane following and intersection crossing to turning and stopping. However,
most existing deep learning approaches to autonomous driving do not consider
the behavioral mode in the training strategy. This paper describes a technique
for learning multiple distinct behavioral modes in a single deep neural network
through the use of multi-modal multi-task learning. We study the effectiveness
of this approach, denoted MultiNet, using self-driving model cars for driving
in unstructured environments such as sidewalks and unpaved roads. Using labeled
data from over one hundred hours of driving our fleet of 1/10th scale model
cars, we trained different neural networks to predict the steering angle and
driving speed of the vehicle in different behavioral modes. We show that in
each case, MultiNet networks outperform networks trained on individual modes
while using a fraction of the total number of parameters.Comment: Published in IEEE WACV 201