Roborace / YouTube
This is a pretty dope concept that could be extrapolated to tons of other sports, and one that I could definitely see myself paying to watch in-person at some point in the future. It’s man versus machine.
Pro drift racer Ryan Tuerck is racing against an autonomous-driven, closed-cockpit prototype known as the ‘DevBot’. It’s an electric race car pumping out 550 horsepower while it is controlled by LIDAR and machine vision cameras. This race took place on a Formula E track during a recent Formula E (electric racing circuit) event in Rome, Italy. Ryan Tuerck is one of the best drift racers in the world but does he have what it takes to beat out an autonomous race car? I don’t want to give away any spoilers:
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Well, I can’t say I was totally shocked by how that turned out. The robot definitely has an edge when it comes to optimizing engine performance but we haven’t progressed to a point yet where the computer-driven car can navigate a race track as well as a seasoned track racer. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if an autonomous robot-driven race car is able to beat human drivers at some point within the next decade but we’re not there yet.