Driverless Electric Race Car Makes U.S. Debut

(Image courtesy of Roborace.)

Roborace, the world’s first driverless electric racing series recently hosted a special showcase of Robocar, the first driverless electric racing car, in Times Square in New York City.

The exhibition, located on Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets, kicked off Roborace’s weekend at the inaugural FIA Formula E Qualcomm NYC ePrix Championship in Brooklyn where the company demonstrated autonomous vehicle technology using its development prototype car, DevBot.

Designed by Roborace’s chief design officer Daniel Simon, automotive futurist and concept designer best known for his work on the sci-fi films Tron: Legacy and Oblivion, Robocar is powered by Nvidia’s Drive PX2 AI car computing platform and uses a number of technologies to drive itself, including LIDAR, Radar, AI cameras, ultrasonic sensors, optical speed sensors, GNSS positioning and more.

“We’re thrilled to mark Roborace’s U.S. debut with a showcase of our beautiful Robocar in the iconic Times Square,” said Denis Sverdlov, CEO of Roborace. “Driverless and electric technologies will be extremely important in cities like New York City, and Roborace is bringing them into the public’s consciousness.”

Robocar with Denis Sverdlov, Miguel Gamino and Daniel Simon. (Image courtesy of Roborace.)

“It is exciting to bring the Robocar to one of the most forward-thinking cities in the world,” said Daniel Simon, CDO of Roborace. “One of the core ideas of autonomous driving is to solve traffic, and to see the Robocar surrounded by the congested streets of Times Square is a great reminder of those goals.”

For more information on driverless vehicles, check out our features on their history, technology and politics.