This weekend will see the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) returns to CES – a competition that represents a giant leap in the world of automation and high-speed racing.
The IAC will take place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, January 7th, with a focus on breaking world records in the exciting realm of autonomous racing.
The race will take place at –
- 10:00 PST / 18:00 GMT – Time trials and elimination rounds begin
- 13:00 – 15:00 PST / 21:00 – 23:00 GMT – Live broadcast of semi and final competition rounds
You can watch the live stream on the official IAC twitch.tv account.
The competition sees nine of the most skilled AI racing teams compete to showcase their cutting-edge technology tech. The race has everything to appeal to the most seasoned racing fan or those simply interested in the latest developments in autonomous technology.
The AI-piloted vehicles are set to take on a 0.9-mile track that requires split-second decisions on the fly—all without ever touching the wheel.
The Indy Autonomous Challenge: The race and what it entails
The IAC is a racing event in which autonomous cars will compete to finish a 2.5-mile oval track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The aim of the race is to push the boundaries of self-driving technology and demonstrate its potential to transform the automotive industry.
The Rules of the IAC Competition consist of a single elimination tournament with multiple rounds of high-speed head-to-head passing matches with AV-21 racecars culminating in a championship round.
The teams will be competing in modified, self-driving electric vehicles that have been designed and built by engineering teams from around the world. These cars are equipped with advanced sensors and cameras which should allow them to navigate the track autonomously without any human intervention.
The competition will feature six teams competing in a single-elimination tournament format. The tournament will consist of multiple rounds of head-to-head matches, with the two cars in each match taking turns as a leader (defender) and passer/follower (attacker).
The cars will attempt to pass each other at increasing speeds until one or both are unable to successfully complete a pass.
The winner of the championship round will be crowned the overall winner of the tournament, while the loser will be the second-place team.
The tournament will also feature a time trial competition to determine the seeding of the top four teams in Group A. Passes can only be attempted within a predetermined passing zone at speeds below 130 mph, and can be attempted anywhere on the track at speeds above 130 mph.
Each car will have one chance per round to complete a pass, and the roles of leader and follower will be reversed if the first attacker fails to complete a pass.
The race will act as a showcase of how far autonomous driving technology has come and how much more sophisticated it has become in recent years — something that has only been possible due to significant investment by governments, businesses, venture capital firms, and other organizations that recognize the potential of these technologies.
While the competition promises to be a thrilling showcase of autonomous car technology and racing strategy on a more human level, the event also offers an opportunity for competitors from different backgrounds and disciplines — from engineers to software developers — to collaborate on creating a self-driving car that can safely navigate a challenging track while also demonstrating its own technical capabilities.
