The following story appeared on December 1. If it had been April 1 I could have thought it was an April Fool’s prank – but it isn’t.
Headed “Robotic cars are hitting the race track next year”, this new series is apparently promoted by the Formula E electric car race series and is called “Roborace” that will put electric, autonomous cars to the test – power, algorithms, and all.
Currently, no teams have signed up for the race, but Formula E hopes autonomous car makers, such as Google and Uber, will join in to show off the capabilities of their vehicles.
Imagine a massed field of these!
The driverless races will take place directly before each electric car race in the 2016-17 season. Ten teams, each with two autonomous vehicles, will compete in hour-long races on the same circuits as Formula E’s human-driven races.
Removing humans from the equation will undoubtedly open up new possibilities. Not only are the Roboraces twice as long as the “regular” electric car races, but the autonomous vehicles are likely to sport unconventional shapes to maximize aerodynamics. But as IEEE speculates, the outcome of the races will most likely be determined by the cars’ algorithms.
May the best software win.
Denis Sverdlov, founder of Kinetik and Roborace said, “Roborace is a celebration of revolutionary technology and innovation that humanity has achieved in that area so far. It’s a global platform to show that robotic technologies and AI can co-exist with us in real life.”
The mission of Roborace is to demonstrate that the future of automotive and information technology is already here and can even work in extreme conditions.
All I can think is that someone in the Formula E management hasn’t been taking his medication. The chances of this whizzzzzz driverless car race attracting spectators and holding their attention for one hour is a figure round about zero. The Formula E has no following and they even have to change cars half way through their races as the battery goes flat before the end.
