Date

Oct 23 2021

Location

4750 W 16th St, Indianapolis, Indiana 46222, United States

The Indy Autonomous Challenge, a US$1.5 million university prize competition to win the world’s first head-to-head, high-speed autonomous race at the renowned Indianapolis Motor Speedway has become a must-attend event for motorsport fanatics. After all, what better way to get the adrenaline pumping than through joining a blistering, high-stakes challenge where you match your skills and wits with cutting-edge streamlined automotive design and software to beat back rival teams?

The Indy Autonomous Challenge is the perfect environment for combining years of fundamental and road-relevant research and leveraging sophisticated robotics technology to promote autonomous driving to the general public.

For Technology Innovation Institute (TII), the applied research pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), this was an irresistible opportunity to showcase its ambitions and belief in the future of autonomous robotics. Our sponsorship of TII-UNIMORE racing Team – with its highly-skilled motorsport ‘drivers’ that hold the expertise to design, maintain and develop software and hardware to operate autonomous racing vehicles of all dimensions and at any scale testifies to this commitment. TII-UNIMORE racing Team is collaborating with TII’s Autonomous Robotics Research Centre (ARRC) to advance its Indy dream!

TII, through its initial seven initial dedicated specialised centres in quantum, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems, is a great fit for TII-UNIMORE racing Team and the Indy Autonomous Challenge

TII-UNIMORE racing Team was one of the leading contenders of the event, sponsored by Cisco and organized by Energy Systems Network (ESN), creditably notching up record speeds of 227 kph at the end of the primary race, despite a bug in the system that saw it miss the opportunity to win the big prize at IAC. Regardless, the event was a steppingstone for TII and ARRC – marking our foray into the world of developing the software that propels autonomous racecars.