Bethonie WaringRoborace has made history as its driverless car became the first fully autonomous race car to successfully complete a hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The untimed run was trouble free, with the car sticking to the middle of the road as it used AI technology to navigate the course.
It was limited to just 75mph, though the company claims the car can reach speeds of 200mph.
It completed its first public run in front of 55,000 spectators on the Friday of the festival, with more runs to be completed over the course of the weekend.
“We had a successful run as recently as Monday, but really the final test of what we were doing was today when the environment was populated with fans and the vehicle has a lot to look at,” Roborace’s Chief Operating Officer Jen Horsey told Autosport.
“This environment is way more complex than a racetrack. The tracks that we’ve been on are very structured: track walls, tarmac to the edges, so here it is a step beyond. It’s actually closer to a road environment than ultimately what this technology will be applied to.”
The team aims to make three successful, consistent runs at the festival.
