INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Abu Dhabi&s Yas Marina circuit, scene of last month&s Formula One season-ender, will be a testing ground over the coming weeks for a race
car driven by software algorithms rather than any human hand.The driverless Dallara Super Formula SF23 open-wheel cars, capable of hitting
speeds of 300 kilometres per hour, have a computer in place of the cockpit and no need for a steering wheel, seat, pedals or protective
halo.The cars are the stars of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) which is set to hold its inaugural race at the grand prix
circuit on April 28, 2024, with a prize fund of $2.25 million.Ten single-car teams will be involved in year one but organizers accept the
science is not yet there for all to race together at speed.We know that two (driverless) cars can race well on a track together, what we&ll
be pushing to see is can you achieve an outcome where three or four cars are racing competitively against each other?& Dr
Tom McCarthy, executive director of operating company ASPIRE, told Reuters.We&re at the frontiers of science on this one
If we got to a point that 10 cars are racing (together) within the next five years I think that would be a huge achievement.We see ourselves
on a development path, we see a time in the future where you&ll have as many cars lining up on the grid for an autonomous race as a Formula
One race, but that&s not going to happen today or tomorrow.ASPIRE is part of an Advanced Technology Research Council established by Abu
Dhabi three years ago with the aim of leveraging technology to help diversify the oil-rich emirate&s economy.lsquo;RoboraceDriverless racing
has been attempted before, with the all-electric Formula E series planning a ‘Roborace& series as far back as 2015.A ‘race& between two
cars at speeds of up to 185 kph, using sensors and on-board systems to navigate a Buenos Aires street circuit, was held in 2017 but one
machine still crashed.Some of those involved then are now with A2RL, but this time the cars use petrol engines.I think one of the great
audience draws at a track is the bang and the noise of an internal combustion engine
I think it&s going to be around with us for a while,& said McCarthy.A manned prototype has been used in testing, with former F1 driver
Daniil Kvyat giving it a run in Dubai last month
Japan-based Super Formula is the second fastest series in the world after Formula One, Reuters reported.The driverless teams will use
identical cars run by universities and elite institutions in Asia, Europe and the United States but each can adapt software algorithms.The
car is completely autonomous and the only human intervention, once the race starts, is a ‘kill switch& to shut it down.If the first race
is a &proof of concept&, a future calendar could expand to three races with tracks in Europe and Asia added to Yas
ASPIRE also has plans for autonomous drone racing and races with off-road buggies and boats.What we would like to see is the OEMs
(manufacturers) come to us and say can you do A, B or C as a challenge? And then design the race format in such a way that it tests this
challenge that they have,& said McCarthy.A maximum of 10,000 tickets will be sold at nominal prices for the April race but the focus is
online and the virtual reality potential.McCarthy said autonomous racing, with its focus on mobility and safety applications for road cars,
posed no threat to conventional series.I would hate us to be classified as the people that want to drive the person out of the car for sport
I think it would be crazy to do that and in fact I would hate to see it happening,& he said.I think people will always want to see racing as
a human endeavor.The post Driverless race cars on track for April Abu Dhabi debut first appeared on Ariana News.
