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Driverless Electric Rider Passes Track Test in Marrakech, Morocco
Planned Roborace series will see self-driving cars compete at Formula E ePrix weekends
CNN
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It’s a car packed with technology that developers boldly predict will transform our cities and change the way we live.
The standalone “DevBot #1” recently took a giant leap forward in Morocco, making its street track debut at the Formula E Marrakech ePrix.
The battery-powered prototype is being tested for Roborace – a proposed racing series where driverless cars will compete on temporary street circuits.
“This is the first time we’ve used 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 who put in hours and hours of work. These guys were up until 1-2 in the morning developing technology that no one else in the world is able to do. at this speed and in these complicated environments.”
Read: Electric race car showcases a driverless future
Using a variety of sensors – including GPS, radar and ultrasonic – combined with sophisticated computer programs, the car learns to navigate a track at high speed avoiding all obstacles.
“What we’re doing is state-of-the-art right now,” says Cooke, who is also CMO of Kinetik – an investment firm founded by Russian businessman Denis Sverdlov that provides financial backing for the project. .
“There are two or three kinds of space races, if you will – some people go to Mars, we’re developing robotic cars and I think that’s probably one of the most, if not the most exciting spaces in the world in this moment. ”
After the successful 30-minute test in Marrakesh – this year’s host city of the United Nations climate change conference (COP22) – Cooke said the company would then try to race two cars together on the track in the eventual goal of having up to 10 cars competing each Formula E ePrix weekend.
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Roborace Ltd.
A new series of robotic racing cars is expected to start in 2017.
Formula E championship weekends. Organizers commissioned Daniel Simon – famous for his work on films like ‘Tron: Legacy’ – to design the race car. ” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Daniel Simon
The planned “Roborace” series is expected to be contested during Formula E championship weekends. Organizers have commissioned Daniel Simon – famous for his work on films like “Tron: Legacy” – to design the race car.
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Matt Knight/CNN
The battery-powered prototype can reach speeds of 215 mph (350 km/h), according to Roborace.
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Roborace Ltd.
The ‘Roborace’ series is set to begin in 2017 and will see 10 self-driving cars compete on the same track.
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Matt Knight/CNN
The car successfully cruised the Formula E ePrix track in Marrakech in November. The all-electric racing series will host robot races during ePrix weekends.
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Matt Knight/CNN
The car was developed by a small team of engineers and computer scientists. “With this car, we have several types of sensors,” Roborace AI developer Sergey Malygin told CNN. “First, there are laser measurements – based on light, so we have information about 3D objects around us.”
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Matt Knight/CNN
“We also have cameras, radar, ultrasound to get information about other vehicles and base stations,” Malygin continues. “We also have precise positioning systems and optical speed sensors.”
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Matt Knight/CNN
“To get that information inside (the car), process it, and get a valuable understanding of what’s going on around us, that’s something that requires a lot of computing power,” Malygin says. The raw data is then deciphered by algorithms that tell the car where the walls are and where other cars are on the road.
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Matt Knight/CNN
“That’s why we want to bring this car into a controlled environment where you can’t hurt anyone and where you can prove it works,” says Simonavicius.
Pictures: Autonomous car revolution
Roborace Ltd
“We’re trying to change people’s perspective on it. So they’ll see it at the races and see it’s safe and it does all these cool things.”
“Being here at COP22 as we celebrate an electric future, a driverless future – it’s 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 change our lives, it’s going to transform our cities.”