The first Abu Dhabi autonomous car race, an unprecedented event in the world's motorsports, was held on Saturday in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, testing the capability of artificial intelligence-powered vehicles on tracks.
The race, held by the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) at the Yas Marina Circuit that features the formula one race, attracted eight teams from seven countries, including China, and allured more than 10,000 spectators.
Different from previous car races, this one had four cars competing on tracks together, which increases the decision-making complexity and has a higher demand on vehicles' ability to make quick decisions.
Each car in the race was modified and equipped with an automobile mobility stack for racing cars, consisting of seven camera sensors, three laser detectors, and four radar sensors. Every car was asked to be fully autonomous, with only one human intervention -- using the stop button to end the race.
Four qualifiers -- the best players in speed and overtaking -- battled for the top place on Saturday night, and the team of Technical University of Munich took away the first prize.
A team of students from the Beijing Institute of Technology and the Khalifa University, called the "Flying Eagle" team, also made their show at the race.
"We jointly formed the 'Flying Eagle' team, and we mainly carry out exploration of cutting-edge technologies through high-end international competitions," said Lin Defu, the team's founder and a professor from the Beijing Institute of Technology.
"The team is extremely hard-working and dedicated. We are very happy to work with the team closely, and we look forward to continue this effort together," said Majid Khonji, an assistant professor at Khalifa University's Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department.
Abu Dhabi holds first car race for artificial intelligence-powered vehicles
