Formula E announces driverless support races for Season Three

Formula E has partnered with Kinetik to create a driverless race series for electric cars called ROBORACE, aiming to begin for the 2016-17 season. The championship is designed to further the development of autonomous vehicles, a concept of which is currently advancing, mirroring Formula E’s development of electric vehicles.

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.”

The championship is set to act as a support series for Formula E. Ten teams of two cars will take part in an hour-long race before each Formula E race. Each team will have the same car, but will compete with real-time computer algorithms and AI technology.

The project will give talented engineers the opportunity to work on ground-breaking technology, which is why one of the ten teams will be crowd-sourced open to software experts worldwide.

This partnership will also see support from Charge, an automotive start-up founded by Kinetik developing range-extended powertrains for commercial vehicles. Charge will become the Official Truck Partner for the Formula E World Championship, providing electric trucks for the drivers’ parade, towing trucks for vehicle recovery and shuttles for transportation around the eVillage.

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: “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.”

More information on the championship and the teams are expected in the coming months.

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