Inside Roborace - Episode One

[Paul Jeffrey]

The opening episode of a new "fly on the wall" style YouTube documentary following the development process of the worlds first driverless racing car has been aired.

Inside Roborace runs at just under 4 1/2 minutes in length and follows the car and crew as they test at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Honk Kong. The Roborace initiative plans to create a driverless racing series that supports the popular FIA Formule E all electric open wheel championship, aiming to debut during the 2017/18 Formula E series.

In order to introduce the radical technology to a wider as audience as possible, the team behind the series have created a series of mini documentary episodes to be aired on a fortnightly basis following progress of the new technology. Episode 1 can be viewed below.

Inside Roborace - Episode One

From the official YouTube channel:

"Follow the journey as the Roborace team encounter a battery issue ahead of a live demonstration in Hong Kong on the weekend of Formula E season opener in China.

Inside Roborace is a documentary capturing the process of creating the worlds first Ai, driverless, electric racing series."

Check out the Formula E sub forum at RaceDepartment to discuss the FIA Formula E and Roborace Championships. We'll bring you the latest news and share the most interesting discussion points, join in the conversation today.

What did you think of Episode One? Do you like the idea of this kind of technology? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

Do you like the idea of this kind of technology?

No. Driverless Cars are a stupid idea

 

[led00m]

No. Driverless Cars are a stupid idea

I think this is brilliant. Imagine the races that could we could have and the leaps in AI developement that we could benefit from in such a competition!

 

[Austin Ogonoski]

Extremely well-done piece. Not a fan of the subject matter though. Just because you CAN build a driver-less race car, doesn't mean you should.

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

I think this is brilliant. Imagine the races that could we could have and the leaps in AI developement that we could benefit from in such a competition!

But what's the point in making advancements in AI technology. My whole problem is I think driverless cars are stupid in the first place.

Also I can imagine a boring races in a boring series where I couldn't care who wins or who doesn't because motorsport is pointless if you don't have drivers

 

[Epistolarius]

I think it's very fascinating, from an engineering perspective. But to me it only makes sense in terms of development and entertainment value if they go to extremes with the races and cars. Extreme race lengths, circuits, conditions, speeds, etc. that'd be way too dangerous for normal racing where it really comes down to the engineering prowess of the teams. Anything else doesn't seem like it'd be that interesting to make into a sport. Companies might invest into the tech but who else would sponsor and watch it? And "Roboraces" will never replace normal racing activities for drivers who want to race and fans who want to watch races with drivers that show their skill and make human mistakes.

 

[Ghoults]

I think it would have been more interesting had they chosen to use petrol engine.

As for robocars racing I can imagine it being super boring. If you allow the cars to start in the order of the lap times then the fastest car will start from pole and the whole race is going to be super boring. It is just watching them go around the track in that exact order because each car can do a certain lap time and will do just that lap time all the time.

I'd love to watch a well made documentary about what would happen during such race weekend but I would not be interested to watch the race itself. The tech is interesting but as a race event it does look like there is not much to be excited about. Driverless cars are the future of transportation but maybe not the future of racing.

 

[Will Mazeo]

I think this is brilliant. Imagine the races that could we could have and the leaps in AI developement that we could benefit from in such a competition!

If they can't improve an AI inside a sim where it costs nothing in case they crash a car and they have control of all the variables what makes you think this is going to help improving it for gaming purposes? I even doubt the CPU used for these AI are anywhere close to a home desktop...
Tho I dont know if I udnerstood your comment right apologizes if I didn't

 

[Blimey]

I think this is brilliant. Imagine the races that could we could have and the leaps in AI developement that we could benefit from in such a competition!

eh, I doubt any huge leaps in development would come from working with AI in real life.

 

[led00m]

As for robocars racing I can imagine it being super boring. If you allow the cars to start in the order of the lap times then the fastest car will start from pole and the whole race is going to be super boring. It is just watching them go around the track in that exact order because each car can do a certain lap time and will do just that lap time all the time.

Isn't that just F1 in a nutshell?

 

[Alex72]

Its a logical step towards self driving cars i guess. If these cars can handle racing and not crash into things and eachother then it might be good enough for real traffic down the line. Not so turned on about driver less car racing, but the tech is cool.

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

The only positive I can draw at the moment is that these cars should be able to race in all weather conditions.

 

[led00m]

I think driverless cars for every day use are stupid, but a driverless racing championship.... i think there could be a lot of appeal! Why do we like racing at the end of the day? We like to see cars going wheel to wheel don't we? So what difference would it make if it was a machine or a person at the wheel?

 

[Will Mazeo]

I think driverless cars for every day use are stupid, but a driverless racing championship.... i think there could be a lot of appeal! Why do we like racing at the end of the day? We like to see cars going wheel to wheel don't we? So what difference would it make if it was a machine or a person at the wheel?

Huh, cars go side by side and at the end of the day we are talking about how 2 humans made it happen, not the machines.

 

[Blimey]

I think driverless cars for every day use are stupid, but a driverless racing championship.... i think there could be a lot of appeal! Why do we like racing at the end of the day? We like to see cars going wheel to wheel don't we? So what difference would it make if it was a machine or a person at the wheel?

a machine is capable of going flat out at all times with no fatigue.

 

[Ghoults]

a machine is capable of going flat out at all times with no fatigue.

And no errors, no lapses of concentration, always basically 100% of its performance. Or just going just as fast as it needs to. The tech itself is fascinating but the racing is probably just a hotlapping contest.

Actually I think one of the strengths of driverless car races is that there can be much bigger risks taken with the track and race procedures. Standing starts in full monsoon rain conditions? Not an issue. If something happens nobody is going to get hurt. Making corners that are stupidly dangerous. Like 300mph chicanes with concrete barriers as kerbs. No problem. Have the cars start like they used to in lemans. At green light the cars turn on and the faster your car turns on the faster it gets into turn 1. Start the cars in grids with 0 room between the cars. Some stuff you would never want to try with cars with drivers inside them but when it is robocars you can really make it extreme. Plus technically the cars could end up looking totally unique when you don't need driver's cabin there at all.

Damn it. I'm starting to like the idea...

 

[TTupsi]

No. Driverless Cars are a stupid idea

This is a second thread you've made this claim but haven't yet said why you think they're stupid? Almost all big automotive companies are developing them and there is some demand for self-driving cars so they can't possibly be stupid or useless can they..?

 

[led00m]

This is a second thread you've made this claim but haven't yet said why you think they're stupid? Almost all big automotive companies are developing them and there is some demand for self-driving cars so they can't possibly be stupid or useless can they..?

There is a demand for it because people are guilable and lazy xD or just lack the ability to drive

 

[Will Mazeo]

This is a second thread you've made this claim but haven't yet said why you think they're stupid? Almost all big automotive companies are developing them and there is some demand for self-driving cars so they can't possibly be stupid or useless can they..?

well... there is a ton of demand for stuff like Bieber music and it is still stupid and useless

 

[TTupsi]

There is a demand for it because people are guilable and lazy xD or just lack the ability to drive

I'll gladly be called lazy if I could spend 1h a day for anything else than driving to work/home.