Formula E announces ‘Roborace,’ the first driverless car race series

Formula E has just partnered with investment company Kinetik to kick off the world’s first driverless car racing series.

Formula E, the first electronic car circuit race, uses electric cars capable of approximately 140 miles per hour. The new series, dubbed Roborace, will pit 10 teams — with two cars each — against one another in a circuit featuring self-driving cars capable of over 180 miles per hour.

The races will use 20 autonomous electric cars, all with the same specifications. With the cars being identical, teams of engineers and programmers are left to focus on algorithms and AI that are “smarter” than that of their competitors.

Each of the hour-long races will be run before a scheduled Formula E event next season.

Look for the autonomous cars in action in October, 2016.

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➤ Formula E announces the world’s first driverless car racing series [The Verge]