Story Highlights
Driverless electric racer successfully completes track test in Marrakech, Morocco
Planned Roborace series will see autonomous cars compete in Formula E ePrix weekends
CNN
—
It’s a car packed with technology that its developers boldly predict will transform our cities and change the way we live.
The autonomous “DevBot #1” took a big step forward in Morocco recently, making its debut on a street track at the Formula E ePrix of Marrakech.
The battery-powered prototype is being tested for Strongly – a proposed racing series where driverless cars will compete on temporary city circuits.
“This is the first time we’ve run the Devbot in driverless mode on a Formula E track in the middle of a city street,” Roborace’s Justin Cooke told CNN.
“It is very exciting for the team that put in hours and hours of work. These guys were up until 1 or 2 am in the morning developing technology that no one else in the world can do at this speed and in these challenging environments. .”
Read: Electric race car shows a driverless future
Using a variety of sensors, including GPS, radar and ultrasound, combined with sophisticated computer programs, the car learns to navigate a track at high speed while avoiding all obstacles.
“What we’re doing is at the cutting edge of technology right now,” says Cooke, who is also CMO of Kinetik, an investment company founded by Russian businessman Denis Sverdlov that is providing financial backing for the project.
“There are two or three types of space races, if you will: some people are going to Mars, we’re developing robotic cars, and I think it’s probably one of the most exciting spaces in the world right now, if not the most exciting. ”
After the successful 30-minute test in Marrakech, the host city for this year’s United Nations climate change conference (COP22), Cooke says the company will try to race two cars together on track with the ultimate goal of having up to 10 cars competing in each Formula E ePrix weekend.
Robot racing cars are ready!
“Being here at COP22 when we’re celebrating an electric future, a driverless future, is the perfect time for Roborace,” Cooke enthuses.
Visit cnn.com/motorsport for more Formula E news and features
“More than anything, we want people to be excited about technology because it’s going to change our lives, it’s going to transform our cities.”
