Much of today's autonomous vehicles are being tested on closed tracks, limited public roads, and in simulation. However, the Indy Autonomous Challenge, or IAC, has taken a different approach that's both safe and exciting. The Consumer Technology Association today announced that the IAC will return to CES on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023.
The Arlington, Va.-based Consumer Technology Association (CTA) successfully demonstrated autonomous racecars at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Organizers and sponsors included Energy Systems Network (ESN), the United Arab Emirates' Technology Innovation Institute (TII), remotely driven car service Halo, and 5G network provider T-Mobile.
Nine teams from around the world competed with the same base cars from Dallara and lidar sensors from Luminar, adding their own self-driving software. Team PoliMOVE from Politecnico di Milano and the University of Alabama won the $150,000 grand prize. It also later set the land-speed record for an autonomous racecar on the space shuttle runway in Florida (see video below).
“The Autonomous Challenge @ CES in January brought a new level of excitement to CES with the world’s first head-to-head autonomous racecar competition, pushing autonomous driving technology to its limits,” stated Jean Foster, senior vice president for marketing and communications at the CTA. “We are thrilled to welcome the Indy Autonomous Challenge back to CES 2023 and can’t wait to see how the research being done on autonomous vehicles through this competition will advance the industry.”
Indy Autonomous Challenge continues pushing innovators
The goal of the Indy Autonomous Challenge is to solve real-world problems with technologies that will speed deployments of advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS) and the commercialization of fully autonomous vehicles.
“We bring together the best university minds in AI, robotics, and automation from around the world and match them with cutting edge technology from industry leading companies to make the impossible possible,” said Paul Mitchell, president of the IAC. “We come to CES because this competition is not only catapulting autonomous technologies forward, but it’s also educating and inspiring innovators and entrepreneurs for generations to come.”
The Indy Autonomous Challenge is designed to engage university teams from around the world and to establish a hub for performance automation in Indiana. The organization said it has established record-setting prize competitions to attract talent who will program modified racecars and further the safety and performance of autonomous vehicles.
The IAC started with 41 university teams signing up to compete more than two years ago, representing top engineering and technology programs from 14 U.S. states and 11 countries. Last October, TUM Autonomous Motorsport from the Technical University of Munich won the $1 million grand prize in the Indy Autonomous Challenge Powered by Cisco at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).
CES 2023 preps starting line
“Collaborating with partners like AWS, Cisco, Continental, Dallara, dSPACE, and Luminar, the IAC is pushing limits for the entire autonomous community and helping to increase safety and performance of this life-saving technology, not only in motorsports, but across all modes of commercial transportation,” said the CTA. It added that next January's vehicles will include a boosted engine package.
The next Autonomous Challenge @ CES will be limited to CES 2023 attendees, and transportation will be available from the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
CES 2023 will take place in Las Vegas from Jan. 5 to 8. The CTA said attendees can see new technologies from global brands, hear about the future of technology from thought leaders, and meet with other attendees.
The show will highlight innovations in sustainability, transportation and mobility, digital health, the metaverse, and more. Registrants can see industry experts during live keynotes, including leaders from John Deere.
Article topics
Email Sign Up
Related Autonomous Vehicles News
