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Self-Driving Car Races to Start Next Year

Vehicles, start yourselves. The organizers of Formula One’s Formula E electric car racing series plan to launch a new offshoot series for autonomous vehicles late next year in conjunction with the third season of Formula E.

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Vehicles, start yourselves. The organizers of Formula One’s Formula E electric car racing series plan to launch a new offshoot series for autonomous vehicles late next year in conjunction with the third season of Formula E.

Dubbed Roborace, the new international series will be held on the same street courses two hours ahead of each Formula E race. Teams will be given identical vehicles then outfit them with their own autonomous driving algorithms and software programs for the one-hour races.

All companies involved in developing artificial intelligence software for self-driving cars have been invited to compete, according to the organizers. In addition, one entry per race is expected to come from a public “crowd-sourced” technology developer.

The Roborace cars will be full-size electric vehicles. Without a driver, there will be more space for batteries, so the cars can travel farther without having to be recharged mid-way through a race as is done at Formula E events. 

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