Formula E Adds Driverless Car Race

30 Nov 2015 | tshego

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Formula E has partnered with Kinetik, an investment company focused on disruptive technologies, with the goal of launching a new support series for driverless electric cars next season.

The electricity powered motor racing series will be looking to run races with driverless cars which can reach speeds in excess of 100mph.

Known as Roborace, the new championship will seek to provide a competitive platform for autonomous driving solutions that are now being developed by large industrial automotive companies.

Organisers insist the race will be safe and once the race has begun any crashes will be contained in the confines on the existing circuit and they will also be able to remotely shut down all the cars.

There will be 20 identical cars, run by 10 teams who design the artificial intelligence (AI), the car will not only have to know the fastest way around the circuit, it will also need to be able to react to the competition and overtake along the way.

The plan is for Roborace to form part of the support package of the Formula E championship, with the first race intended to take place in the 2016/17 season before each race.

It is expected the series will provoke the interest of not just technology companies and universities, but also the car manufacturers.

Further support for both Formula E and Roborace will come from Charge, an automotive start-up founded by Kinetik that develops range-extended electric powertrains for commercial vehicles. Charge will become an official truck partner of the Formula E championship and will provide electric trucks for the drivers’ parade, towing trucks for emergency recovery of the racing cars and shuttles for transportation of guests and visitors of the championship.

Denis Sverdlov, founder of Kinetik and Roborace, said: “We passionately believe that, in the future, all of the world’s vehicles will be assisted by AI and powered by electricity, thus improving the environment and road safety.

“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. Thus, anyone who is at the edge of this transformation now has a platform to show the advantages of their driverless solutions and this shall push the development of the technology.”

Alejandro Agag, chief executive of Formula E, added: “We are very excited to be partnering with Kinetik on what is surely one of the most cutting-edge sporting events in history. Roborace is an open challenge to the most innovative scientific and technology-focused companies in the world. It is very exciting to create a platform for them to showcase what they are capable of and I believe there is great potential for us to unearth the next big idea through the unique crowd sourced contest.”