The “Roborace” car makes its road debut in Marrakech
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Driverless electric racer successfully completes track test in Marrakesh, Morocco
In the planned Roborace series, autonomous cars will compete at the Formula E ePrix weekends
CNN
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It’s a car loaded with technology that its developers boldly predict will transform our cities and transform the way we live.
The autonomous “DevBot #1” recently made a big leap forward in Morocco, making its debut on a street circuit at the Formula E Marrakech ePrix.
The battery-powered prototype will be tested for Roborace – a planned racing series in which driverless cars will compete on temporary street circuits.
“It’s the first time we’ve run the Devbot in driverless mode on a Formula E track in the middle of a city street,” Roborace’s Justin Cooke told CNN.
“It’s so exciting for the team that has put in hours and hours of work. These guys were busy until 1-2am developing technology that no one else in the world can execute at this speed and in these complicated environments.”
Read: Electric racing car shows driverless future
Using a variety of sensors – including GPS, radar and ultrasound – in conjunction with sophisticated computer programs, the car learns how to navigate a route at high speed while avoiding all obstacles.
“What we’re doing right now is at the forefront of technology,” says Cooke, who is also CMO of Kinetik – an investment company founded by Russian businessman Denis Sverdlov, which is providing financial backing to the project.
“If you will, there are two or three types of space racing — some people are going to Mars, we’re developing robotic cars, and I think it’s probably one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting, space events in the world right now. ”
After the successful 30-minute test in Marrakech – this year’s host city of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22) – Cooke says the company will next look to run two cars together on the track, with the eventual goal of up to 10 To have cars compete every Formula E ePrix weekend.
photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Roborace Ltd.
In 2017, a new robot racing car series is scheduled to start.
Formula E championship weekends. Organizers hired Daniel Simon – famous for his work on films like Tron: Legacy – to design the race car. ” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
DanielSimon
The planned “Roborace” series is to be held on the Formula E championship weekends. Organizers hired Daniel Simon – famous for his work on films like Tron: Legacy – to design the race car.
Watch a video of it in action here” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Matt Knight/CNN
According to Roborace, the battery-powered prototype can reach speeds of 350 km/h.
photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Roborace Ltd.
Scheduled to launch in 2017, the Roborace series will see 10 autonomous cars all competing against each other on the same track.
photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Matt Knight/CNN
The car successfully navigated the track at Formula E’s Marrakech ePrix in November. The all-electric racing series will host robotic races at the ePrix weekends.
photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Matt Knight/CNN
The car was developed by a small team of engineers and computer scientists. “On this car we have several types of sensors,” Sergey Malygin, Roborace artificial intelligence developer, told CNN. “First of all, there are laser measurements – light-based, so we have information about the 3D objects around us.”
photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Matt Knight/CNN
“We also have cameras, radar and ultrasound equipment to get information about other vehicles and base stations,” Malygin continues. “We also have precise positioning systems and optical speed sensors.”
photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Matt Knight/CNN
“To get this information inside (the car), process it and get a valuable understanding of what’s happening around us, you need a lot of computing power,” explains Malygin. The raw data is then decoded by algorithms that tell the car where the walls are and where other cars are on the road.
Matt Knight/CNN
Roborace engineer Matas Simonavicius says each wheel is powered individually, which provides more stability and safety.
“A motor drives a wheel,” Simonavicius told CNN. “That way you can do torque vectoring — you have much more control over the power to the wheels, how it rides and what power it puts out. It is more advanced than the traditional stability control ABS.”
Matt Knight/CNN
But are driverless cars a good idea?
“I think so,” says Simonavicius. “What is currently the biggest cause of accidents? Human error.”
” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Matt Knight/CNN
“So we want to put this car in a controlled environment where you can’t hurt anyone and you can prove that it works,” argues Simonavicius.
photos: Autonomous Autorevolution
Roborace Ltd
“We’re trying to change people’s perspective on it. So they can see it at races and see it’s safe and does all these cool things.”
“To be here at COP22 when we celebrate an electric future, a driverless future – this is the perfect time for Roborace,” enthuses Cooke.
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“More than anything, we want people to be excited about technology because it’s going to transform our lives, it’s going to transform our cities.”
https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/motorsport/roborace-marrakech-cop22-formula-e/index.html The “Roborace” car makes its road debut in Marrakech