In the first of its kind, two self-driving cars took to the track at the Buenos Aires ePrix during a test day for the Formula E racing series. Competing in the upcoming Roborace motorsport championship series, the DevBot 1 and DevBot 2 were able to hit a top speed of 115 mph as the cars programed AI was (almost) successfully able to maneuver the 12 turn street circuit.
While overall it was an impressive display of technology with the DevBot 1 able to successfully conquer the course (as well as adjusting to a dog that ran on track), DevBot 2 wasn’t as fortunate as it came in too fast into a corner causing it to over correct and crash into a barrier.
To put things in perspective the average top speed for Formula E race cars that have a human driver usually top out around 140 mph so for an unmanned car to come close is a remarkable feat of design and programing from the Roborace crew. As evident from the crash there is still a ways to go but the future of self-driving cars is one step closer to reality.
