Latest news with #AbuDhabiAutonomousRacingLeague
Time Out Abu Dhabi
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time Out Abu Dhabi
The driverless car race is coming back to Abu Dhabi with a huge cash prize
Start your engines – well, your algorithms – because the world's most advanced driverless car showdown is hitting Yas Marina Circuit once again this November. The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) is returning on Friday November 15 and it's not just about the glory. This year's prize pool clocks in at a jaw-dropping US$2.25 million (that's over Dhs8 million). If you missed last year's debut, let us catch you up: over 10,000 fans packed the stands while more than a million viewers tuned in from around the globe to watch AI-driven race cars hit top speeds without a human in sight. A2RL is where high-octane motorsport meets cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence – and it's only getting bigger. Now entering its second season, A2RL is welcoming top research teams from ten countries, with France and Japan joining the line-up alongside returning powerhouses from the USA, Germany, China, Singapore, Italy and the UAE. The cars? They're built on the Super Formula SF23 chassis – the fastest open-wheel race car outside of Formula 1 – only now, they're entirely autonomous. The upgraded EAV-24, built right here in the UAE, comes loaded with next-gen sensors, smarter control systems and eco-conscious materials. It can hit speeds of up to 300km/h, all with zero drivers on board. But it's not just about track time. New for 2025 is A2RL SIM-Sprint, a global virtual racing series that takes the action online. It gives teams the chance to develop and refine their algorithms year-round and in all kinds of conditions – ideal for testing those pesky edge cases that don't come up often in real life but could be make-or-break moments in a race. In the future, the SIM Sprint will open to a broader crowd, from indie developers to motorsport-loving gamers. Think of it as a talent pipeline from virtual track to real-world race day. H.E. Faisal Al Bannai, Advisor to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs and Secretary General of ATRC, said: 'With A2RL, we're not just testing autonomous technology, we're accelerating its evolution in the most demanding conditions possible. It's a showcase of engineering excellence, but more importantly, a platform for the future of mobility. From high-speed racing to real-world applications, we are demonstrating what's possible when nations invest in deep tech innovation and challenge the world to think faster, build smarter, and compete responsibly.' Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE, added: 'By combining the physical thrill of racing with the precision of virtual testing, we're enabling the world's best minds to push the boundaries of AI. This year's expanded league reflects Abu Dhabi's commitment to challenge-driven innovation, where real-world impact is engineered at speed and scale.' Friday November 15, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi. More things to do in Abu Dhabi Everything happening in Abu Dhabi in 2025 From new openings to big events, this is shaping up to be quite a year It's official: Abu Dhabi Comedy Season is returning for a second edition with some huge names Wow, look at this line-up Abu Dhabi's best restaurants: Everywhere you should eat at least once Your dinner inspo is sorted
Daily Tribune
18-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Tribune
AI Drone Defeats Human Pilots in $1M Abu Dhabi Racing League Showdown
In a groundbreaking moment for artificial intelligence and robotics, an AI-powered drone has defeated elite human pilots at the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL), marking a new era in autonomous flight. Hosted at ADNEC Marina Hall in collaboration with the Drone Champions League (DCL), the event showcased the world's most advanced autonomous aerial racing technology. A total of 14 teams from countries including the UAE, Netherlands, Austria, South Korea, China, and the US competed across multiple challenges for a $1 million prize pool. 🔸 Dutch Innovation Soars The standout performer of the tournament was MavLab from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, which claimed victory in three out of four categories. Most notably, the team's AI-powered drone completed two laps of a 170-metre course in just 17 seconds, winning the AI Grand Challenge. In a historic AI vs. Human showdown, MavLab's drone edged out three champion human pilots from DCL in head-to-head races. This marked the first time an autonomous system has decisively outperformed professional human pilots in competitive drone racing. 'Winning three top titles is a huge milestone for our team,' said Christophe De Wagter, team principal at MavLab. 'I always wondered when AI would be able to compete with human drone racing pilots in real competitions. I'm extremely proud that we've made it happen this year.' 🔸 UAE's TII Claims a Victory of Its Own The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) of Abu Dhabi also left a strong mark by winning the multi-autonomous drone AI race, which tested coordination, real-time navigation, and collision avoidance. TII's win highlighted the region's growing influence in advanced AI and robotics research. 🔸 A Test of Pure Autonomy Each team raced standardised drones with zero human input — guided solely by onboard AI algorithms. These drones, equipped with a compact computing module, a forward-facing camera, and an inertial measurement unit, navigated a complex course at speeds exceeding 150 km/h. Challenging lighting, sparse visual markers, and the use of rolling shutter cameras further pushed the limits of real-time AI performance, making this the most demanding autonomous drone race ever held globally. 🔸 What's Next? This competition, part of a broader initiative by Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), not only set a new benchmark in AI racing but also demonstrated the growing capabilities of autonomous systems in real-world conditions. As AI continues to evolve, such achievements underscore its ability to outperform humans in fields once thought impossible — and drone racing may just be the beginning.
Gulf News
18-04-2025
- Science
- Gulf News
Watch: AI drone beats human pilot in Abu Dhabi's $1 million prize pool autonomous race
Abu Dhabi: AI is no longer learning from humans – it's starting to beat them. In a major breakthrough for autonomous flight and aerial robotics, an AI-powered drone has outpaced human pilots in a global competition held in Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL), a project under the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), in collaboration with the Drone Champions League (DCL), hosted one of the world's most sophisticated drone races at ADNEC Marina Hall. A total of 14 international teams made it to the finals week, competing for a $1 million prize pool. Teams from the UAE, Netherlands, Austria, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Turkey, China, Spain, Canada, and the US represented university labs, research institutes, and deep-tech startups. The highlight? MavLab, from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, secured victories in three out of four competitions. They clinched the AI Grand Challenge with their drone completing two laps of the 170-metre course in just 17 seconds. MavLab won the world's first AI-only drag race, demonstrating straight-line speed and precision under intense acceleration. In a landmark moment, MavLab's autonomous drone defeated three top DCL champion pilots in a head-to-head AI-versus-human showdown. With precision flying, the AI-powered drone edged out its human-piloted rivals in thrilling contests. (Watch the video) 'Winning three top titles is a huge milestone for our team,' said Christophe De Wagter, team principal of MavLab. 'I always wondered when AI would be able to compete with human drone racing pilots in real competitions. I'm extremely proud of the team that we were able to make it happen already this year.' The results, he underlined, validates years of research and experimentation in autonomous flight. 'To see our algorithms outperform in such a high-pressure environment and take home the largest share of the prize pool, is incredibly rewarding,' De Wagter noted. Meanwhile, Technology Innovation Institute (TII), Abu Dhabi, bagged the multi- autonomous drone AI race in a high-speed challenge that tested coordination, navigation, and collision avoidance between multiple autonomous units. How did they race? Each team raced a standardised drone equipped with a compact computing module, a forward-facing camera and an inertial measurement unit. With zero human input, the drones relied solely on real-time processing and AI-driven decision-making, hitting speeds of more than 150 km/h through a challenging course. The race environment pushed the boundaries of perception-based autonomy, with wide gate spacing, irregular lighting, and minimal visual markers. To raise the difficulty, the event used rolling shutter cameras – further testing each team's ability to achieve fast, stable performance in visually sparse conditions. This was the first time an autonomous drone race of this scale and complexity was held under such constraints, underscoring the technical sophistication of the event.
Al Etihad
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Al Etihad
A2RL x DCL Autonomous Drone Championship 2025 finale to take place in Abu Dhabi
8 Apr 2025 18:02 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) and Drone Champions League (DCL) will host the A2RL x DCL Drone Championship 2025 finale from 11-12 April 2025 at ADNEC Marina Hall, Abu Dhabi. Fourteen elite competitors from across the globe will race for a US$1 million prize pool across four extreme challenges, showcasing cutting-edge drone technology.A2RL x DCL Autonomous Drone Championship will bring together top minds in drone engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics, challenging teams to race through a dynamic aerial course at extreme speeds. Each drone must rely entirely on onboard computing and navigation systems to maneuver without external teams will need to showcase their skills in sensor fusion, advanced control algorithms, and deep learning, condensing highly complex computations into a tiny device that soars, dodges, and conquers gates in a fraction of a A2RL x DCL Autonomous Drone Championship aims to push innovation in AI-driven mobility while establishing Abu Dhabi as a global hub for advanced autonomous and AI technology. The racing competition is a game-changer for both drone racing and the wider field of AI-powered robotics, influencing industries such as autonomous delivery, aerial surveillance and emergency different challenges will present a unique set of circumstances for the teams to consider as they develop their drone control algorithms. To reach this stage, each team has passed two highly competitive qualifying rounds that saw hundreds of talented teams from around the world compete for just 14 final four challenges include the AI Grand Challenge which is a single-drone time trial on a 170-metre track. Each drone must navigate gates as quickly as possible and complete two timed laps to achieve a valid finish. The AI vs Human which is a race that pits the top four AI teams against DCL's elite first-person view pilots in head-to-head knockout rounds on the same racetrack as the AI Grand Challenge. The Multi-drone Race will include four drones race simultaneously, the teams' algorithms for collision avoidance, in-flight maneuvering, and racing line optimisation, and the AI Drag Race, a straight-line battle, measuring acceleration and from universities, research institutions, companies, and private organisations, the final 14 teams come from the UAE, Netherlands, Austria, South Korea, Czech Republic, Mexico, Turkey, China, Spain, Canada and the succeed, teams must programme drones to fly through the track's gates as fast as possible without human input, while the drones must independently calculate their flight path and dynamically adjust to environmental conditions, such as air movement and lighting, as well as gate positions. Capable of reaching speeds of up to 150 km/h, the new A2RL x DCL drones will use a single forward-facing camera and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for flight this new format is the NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX computing module, which provides each drone with an impressive onboard graphics processing unit (GPU) in a compact, power-efficient package. The GPU will utilise all the information and data generated by the camera and IMU—in line with its programming—to control the drone.A2RL will host the second edition of the A2RL Summit on 11 April 2025, bringing together industry leaders, researchers, and policymakers under the theme Building the Motor Valley of AI & Robotics in the UAE. This year's summit will explore the convergence of R&D in Motorsports, the Future of Mobility, and Games for alongside the A2RL x DCL Autonomous Drone Championship, the DCL Falcon Cup Finals bring high-speed, team-based FPV drone racing to ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi. As one of the three flagship Cups shaping the DCL 2025 Season, the Falcon Cup sets the stage for top-tier competition early in the year. Spain Drone Team, Raiden Racing, Cyclone Racing, and the DCL Wildcard Team will go head-to-head in a live showdown on 11-12 April 2025. The event channels DCL's competitive spirit and delivers pure adrenaline for fans onsite and online, with a full broadcast on DCL's YouTube channel on 26 the two days, visitors can expect futuristic roaming performances that blend technology and artistry, a high-energy DJ set within the Drone Area, creating an immersive atmosphere and kid-friendly activities including interactive gaming zones and face painting. The A2RL x DCL Drone Championship is sponsored by XRG, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Mobility, AWS, Du Infra, and Wio Bank. Registration for the event is free at
Gulf Business
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Business
AI takes flight: Abu Dhabi to host world's first all-autonomous drone race
Abu Dhabi is gearing up to host a groundbreaking moment in drone racing history as the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL), organised by ASPIRE, partners with the Drone Champions League (DCL) to launch the world's first AI-only drone racing finale. Taking place from 11–12 April 2025 at Marina Halls 1 & 2, ADNEC, the A2RL x DCL Autonomous Drone Championship will see 14 elite international teams compete in a series of high-speed, high-tech challenges — with no human pilots involved. Instead, drones powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX modules will rely entirely on artificial intelligence to navigate, react, and win. A highlight of the event will be the 'AI vs Human' challenge , which pits top AI racing systems against the world's best drone pilots in a thrilling knockout showdown. The competition will test everything from deep learning and sensor fusion to drone agility and precision under unpredictable conditions—all for a $1 million prize pool . Running alongside the races, A2RL Summit 2.0 on 11 April will bring together global thought leaders in AI, robotics, and autonomous mobility to explore future innovations shaping our world. Open to the public and free to attend, the event is set to attract tech enthusiasts, drone racing fans, students, and families alike. Pre-registration is required at: Event details: 📍 Marina Halls 1 & 2, ADNEC, Abu Dhabi 🗓️ 11–12 April 2025 🕙 10 AM – 6 PM (both days) 🔗 With high-octane AI action and a future-focused summit, A2RL is set to redefine autonomous racing in the capital.
