Robocar makes first public moves

Saturday marked the first public outing of the Robocar prior to the FIA Formula E Paris ePrix. The Robocar will soon be featured as the centerpiece of Roborace, the world's first driverless electric race series that will run as a support series at Formula E ePrix events.

The Robocar weighs 975kg [2,150 lbs] and measures 4.8m long and 2m wide. It has four motors at 300kW each, a 540kW battery, is predominantly made of carbon fiber and will be capable of speeds over 200mph. The car uses a number of technologies to "drive" itself, including five lidars, two radars, 18 ultrasonic sensors, two optical speed sensors, six A.I. cameras, GNSS positioning and is powered by Nvidia's Drive PX2 brain, capable of up to 24 trillion A.I. operations per second to be programmed by teams' software engineers using complex algorithms.

Congratulations@roborace!#fia#FormulaE#ParisEprix#robocarpic.twitter.com/zEDFKxanCV— Geraldine Gaudy (@GeraldineGaudy)May 20, 2017

Roborace provides an open A.I. platform with fixed hardware for companies to develop their own driverless software and push the limits in an extreme and safe environment. The series is designed to be a competition of intelligence, so all teams will use the same Robocar. By ensuring the hardware is consistent all efforts will be focused on advancing the software.

The "brain" of the Robocar – the NVIDIA DRIVE PX 2 – uses artificial intelligence to tackle the complexities inherent in autonomous driving. It utilizes deep learning for 360-degree situational awareness around the car, to determine precisely where the car is and to compute a safe, efficient trajectory.

Roborace will continue to use "DevBot" development cars for demonstrations and testing, introducing the Robocar into public displays during the remainder of 2017 with two Robocars taking to the track together later this year.