Robo Race Organization Introduction

• Robo Race: organization specializing in autonomous racing
• Develops own autonomous race cars
• Runs competition for teams to develop autonomous driving software
• Goal: further autonomous driving technology through competition

Dev Bot 2 Specifications

• Designed to carry human passenger
• 362 horsepower from two electric motors
• Top speed: ~135 mph (civilian limited to 60 mph)
• 0-60 mph: 4.1 seconds
• Development version with human capacity

Robocar Specifications

• Fully autonomous, no human capacity
• Same powertrain as Dev Bot 2 on rear axle
• Additional powertrain on front axle (four-wheel drive)
• Twice the power of Dev Bot 2
• Used for top speed runs
• Achieved 299 kph maximum speed

Sensor Technology

• Military-grade GPS: accurate to ~2 centimeters
• LIDAR: positioned on corners and sides to detect object positions
• Stereo vision cameras: judge depth like human eyes
• Same sensor setup on both cars

Track Mapping & Navigation

• Silverstone national circuit: 1.5 miles
• Lap time: ~90 seconds from standing start
• Pre-created track map defines edges and permitted areas
• Algorithms determine optimum racing line
• Real-time speed and braking decisions
• Based on tire acceleration capabilities

Safety Systems

• Full live telemetry monitoring
• Safe stop system: remote emergency shutdown button
• Automatic shutdown if car deviates too far from intended line
• Hardware failure protection protocols

Previous Crashes & Issues

• First year of competition included several crashes
• Hardware failure incident: car believed it was in different location
• Acted on bad positional data, resulting in wall collision

Test Drive Experience

• Speed limited to 60 mph with human passenger
• No limitations on acceleration, braking, g-forces
• Car reacts real-time to track conditions
• Adapts to slippery conditions from earlier rain
• Steering wheel moves autonomously
• Electric car sound profile

Competition Formats

• Multiple cars on track simultaneously (traditional race format)
• Time trial basis competitions
• Exploring various autonomous racing formats
• Identical cars provided by Robo Race
• Teams provide software "driver" (few thousand lines of code)
• Focus on autonomous driving rather than car setup

Race Control & Team Access

• AI receives information about other cars for safety
• Company maintains control room oversight for safety
• Teams have no access once race starts
• Only pre-programmed algorithms operate during race

Sport Viability Concerns

• Risk element missing compared to traditional motorsport
• Human drivers push close to limits/redline
• Question whether autonomous racing works as spectator sport
• Business model depends on successful entertainment value

Human Element in Autonomous Racing

• Technology development + entertainment business hybrid
• Human stories focus on background programmers/coders
• Traditional F1 has 1000+ people, only 2 drivers visible
• Autonomous racing highlights coding teams
• Safer limit-pushing without human driver risk