25/04/2024
This weekend (27 April 2024) will see the inaugural race day of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit in the UAE. The A2RL aims to push the boundaries of autonomous vehicles by reshaping the future of mobility through extreme sports.
Eight different teams will be competing against each other for a $2.25M prize pool using a set of ten identical Dallara SF23 cars modified from those used in Japan’s Super Formula Championship. There will also be a race between one of the autonomous race cars and the former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat to get a sense of how the AI stacks up. It will be interesting to see how much difference the AI software is able to produce in the lap times of these otherwise identical cars.
The racing cars have each been adapted to include autonomous racing stacks comprising seven camera sensors, three LiDAR sensors, and four RADAR sensors to enable AI to guide these autonomous race cars at speeds of up to 300km/h. In the final race of the event, the fastest four AI powered autonomous race cars will be pitted against each other with the only differences being the AI coding each team uses to control the racing cars based on the data from the autonomous racing stacks.
The autonomous racing stacks have been integrated by the Abu Dhabi Government’s Technology Innovation Institute and include innovative sensor technologies such as the flagship Falkon K LiDAR technology from Seyond (previously Innovusion) for high resolution and accurate ultra long range capabilities to detect obstacles and the other racing cars, and inform the autonomous decision making. As noted by Stephane Timpano of A2RL, these technology partnerships “are raising the bar for safety and performance both on the track today, and in the street tomorrow” as these key innovations and speed efficiencies filter down to consumer cars.
At Reddie & Grose we work with clients at the forefront of innovation – if you would like assistance with your IP strategy then please get in contact. We have a multidisciplinary team of attorneys focussed on Future Transport as well as a specific Electronic and Autonomous Vehicles team that can assist you with invention harvesting and patent filings in this area.
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
