The Goodwood Festival of Speed of kicks off on July 12th and Roborace will become the first company to attempt to run 1.16 mile (1.86 km) long hillclimb using a fully autonomous vehicle.
The attempt will be made by the company’s Robocar which uses a variety of sensors to give the model a 360-degree view of its surrounding. While autonomous driving technology is becoming more common, Goodwood represents a unique challenge as the car will have to avoid unique obstacles such as hay bales while also dealing with spotty GPS reception.
The Robocar features four electric motors which each produce 181 hp (135 kW / 183 PS). This gives the car a combined maximum output in excess of 500 hp (372 kW / 507 PS).
Of course, performance is only part of the story as the Robocar is equipped with LiDAR, radar and ultrasonic sensors as well as cameras and a GPS system. All this information is fed into a high-tech computer, with an AI driver algorithm, which enables the car to drive itself.
According to Goodwood Festival of Speed founder and Duke of Richmond, Charles Gordon-Lennox, “I can’t think of a more exciting way to celebrate our Silver Jubilee than to have Roborace attempt the first autonomous race car run up the hill.” He went on to say “Roborace plays an important role in the future of mobility, challenging public perceptions and providing a platform to advance new technologies” so this makes them the “perfect partner” to attempt this feat.
While it will be interesting to see if the car can successfully navigate the hillclimb, fans can take part in a fully immersive VR experience at the Roborace booth. The booth will be located inside the Future Lab which focuses on autonomous transportation, robotics, personal flight and space exploration.