News
AI RACING TECH NEWS & EVENTS
IT’S ON! AI Racing Tech Revs Up for 1st AV-24 Race Sept. 6
BERKELEY, CA, July 29, 2024 – The AI Racing Team, led by the University of California, Berkeley, along with the University of California, San Diego, and Carnegie Mellon University, is readying its considerable training and talent to compete in the first-ever head-to-head race of the new AV-24s – the world’s fastest autonomous racecars – at the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) 2024.
Ten international, multi-university teams will take to the oval at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana – the racing capital of the world – on Friday, September 6, 2024. Tickets are available on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway website, and the event will be live-streamed for those who cannot attend in person.
MAY THE BEST SOFTWARE WIN!
Right on Track: ADAS 2024 covers AI Racing Tech
In its ADAS Expo Europe 2024 conference preview edition this spring, ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International magazine features AI Racing Tech's newly branded blue-and-gold AV-24 on the cover and centerfold to highlight its report on the next-gen autonomous vehicle platform. The story, which includes interviews with team members, also notes that AI Racing Tech was "the first team to volunteer an AI test driver for the AV-24, beginning with shakedown sessions at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in November 2023."
See "Right On Track: Indy Autonomous Challenge."
PRI Mag Special Report: Autonomous Racing
Apr. 22, 2024 - PRI Magazine reports on the rapid advances of autonomous racing around the globe, interviewing AI Racing Tech team members on the state of the field.
“Autonomy is still a huge research area in industry and in academia, and in many ways, it is still an unsolved problem," says C.K. Wolfe, UC Berkeley program manager for Research Operations and Technical Projects. "We’re writing code that can make decisions in real time and execute those decisions in an adversarial head-to-head competition."
See the full story, "Special Report: Autonomous Racing."
Performance Racing Industry (PRI) photo
Teaming Up with BeamNG
Mar. 28, 2024 - The FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality at UC Berkeley, an engineering academic center devoted to research on Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality, announces its newest industry partnership, with BeamNG, a leading simulation engine software company based in Bremen, Germany. Among the Center’s projects, its Robot Open Autonomous Racing (ROAR) program has the most synergies with BeamNG. ROAR leads the multi-university AI Racing Tech team, currently the top-ranked U.S. team in the international Indy Autonomous Challenge.
See the full FHL Vive Center announcement.
These high-speed racing cars don't have human drivers
Feb. 4, 2024 - BBC News: The Indy Autonomous Challenge is a car race with a difference. All the racing cars are driven using Artificial Intelligence coded by research teams from universities across the world. Some of the autonomous vehicles have reached speeds of up to 180 mph.
"There's a very small percentage of people in the world who can actually race these cars - imagine getting a team of software engineers together and make that a reality... It's not a trivial task,” says C.K. Wolfe, UC Berkeley program manager.
See BBC Click Video
Launching a new era with IAC AV-24
Jan. 29, 2024 - At CES®2024, the Indy Autonomous Challenge took a giant leap into the future with the unveiling of the IAC AV-24, which embodies a fusion of cutting-edge hardware and advanced software, setting a new standard in the realm of autonomous racing.
"We're really excited to explore the new capabilities this new car has to offer and really push the limits and see how fast we can get this car to go," says C.K. Wolfe, UC Berkeley program manager (0:33).
See "Unleashing the Future: IAC's Revolutionary Autonomous Breakthroughs." (IAC Video)
CES showcases new AV-24s
Jan. 12, 2024 - The next-gen Dallara AV-24 - the official vehicle of the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) - was unveiled at CES 2024 as the “most advanced autonomous racecar ever built” as the annual convention opened on January 9 in Las Vegas.
The UC Berkeley Robot Open Autonomous Racing (ROAR) program, together with its UCSD and CMU partners in the AI Racing Tech team, was one of three top teams selected to demo the new models around the track of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
After starting out with a few next-gen demonstration laps, the speedway lights were turned off for “Racing After Dark,” a spectacular display of the three new AV-24s, decked out with LED lights in blue, green, and purple, orbiting the track in near-total darkness.
See the full story, CES showcases new AV-24s, on the ROAR website.
CES 2024 Panel Spotlight: Steering AI Drivers From Simulation to Reality
Jan. 29, 2024 - Featuring Paul Mitchell, IAC; Alvaro Velasquez, DARPA; Tino Schulze, dSPACE; and C.K. Wolfe, AI Racing Tech, University of California, Berkeley, the panel focused on several critical aspects of AI driver training and the transition from simulation to real-world applications. “We’re not acting in a cooperative environment; this is an adversarial, head-to-head environment, where you're pitting two autonomous race cars against each other. And may the best software win,” said Wolfe.
See IAC Video.
UC Berkeley ROAR Racers Among Top Teams to Demo Next-Gen Autonomous Racecars at CES 2024
Dec. 15, 2023 - The University of California, Berkeley, Robot Open Autonomous Racing (ROAR) program, together with its multi-university partners comprising the AI Racing Tech team, will serve among three leading international teams to test out the next-gen Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) racecar. The updated world’s fastest and most advanced autonomous racecar will be unveiled at CES 2024, held January 9-12 in Las Vegas, NV.
See the full story at UC Berkeley ROAR.
UC Berkeley to Lead Most Decorated U.S. Autonomous Racing Team
Nov. 13, 2023 – The University of California, Berkeley, the world’s #1 public university, is assuming leadership of the nation’s most decorated autonomous racecar team in the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC). After more than three years since its start at the University of Hawai’i, AI Racing Tech has risen to prominence for advancing a sophisticated stack of autonomy, AI, and “sim-to-real” technologies under high-stakes, high-speed racing conditions as well as for winning races and setting speed records. As UC Berkeley takes on the role of lead university, the roster of universities, principals, and industry sponsors comprising and supporting the team remains the same.
See the full story at UC Berkeley ROAR.
AI Racing Tech Sets New Road Course Record at Putnam Park
Sept. 20, 2023 - The AI Racing Tech team led by UC Berkeley’s Robot Open Autonomous Racing (ROAR) program achieved the fastest autonomous lap time ever recorded on the U.S. Road Course track, at 1 minute 27 seconds at the Putnam Park Road Course in Greencastle, Indiana on August 31. The team’s custom Dallara AV-21 racecar broke the previous autonomous course record of 2 minutes 9 seconds.
Read the full story at UC Berkeley ROAR.
ART Wins Silver Medal at IAC Dallas Race
Nov. 14, 2022 - "We are beyond thrilled to cap out our 2022 experience with a Runner-Up Silver Medal win for the Indy Autonomous Challenge at Dallas," writes Professor Allen Yang, executive director of the FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality at UC Berkeley. "A strong 2022 finish for ROAR Racing and ROAR Academy."
Read the full story at UC Berkeley ROAR.