Driverless vehicles will race at Yas Marina Circuit amid autonomous transportation technology push
We invited teams from all over the world … but they had to have coding capability and motorsport knowledge to qualify,” he explained.
All the teams in the race will be using a Dallara Super Formula SF23, built by Dallara, which includes bespoke, self-driving capabilities designed specifically for A2RL.
According to race organisers, it’s the fastest open-wheel race car in the world besides the Formula One car.
“We’re calling it the Emirates Autonomous Vehicle,” Mr McCarthy said during an interview with The National’s Business Extra podcast, noting that the race car manufactured using sustainable biocomposite materials, weighing in at 690kg.
“We take great care to make sure each car is precisely identical in every way, and the teams aren’t even allowed to bring spanners into the garage,” he said. “It’s all about the coding that differentiates the cars.”
Although the vehicles are made from sustainable materials, they have all the power and noise associated with the internal combustion engine, and are not to be confused with electronic vehicles.
“If you pass by the Yas Marina Circuit you’ll hear a lot of noise,” Mr McCarthy said, noting that A2RC hopes to continue to develop different vehicles to race over time.
“This is the very first step in what we’re doing. It’s a test bed platform on which future technology innovations will be tested,” he added.
Eventually, Mr McCarthy said the racing league plans to branch out and host races consisting of autonomous drones and other autonomous modes of transportation.
The autonomous race taking place in the UAE is the latest in a string of moves seeking to bolster the country’s presence in terms of autonomous transportation technology.