Indy Autonomous Challenge to Returns to Indianapolis Speedway

The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) September 6, 2024. The competition is set to feature a head-to-head race of possibly the fastest autonomous racecars piloted by artificial intelligence driver software developed by 10 teams representing 18 top universities from North America, Europe, and Asia.

In October 2021, IAC organized its first head-to-head high-speed autonomous racing competition. Since then, IAC has organized five races at iconic tracks, including Las Vegas Motor Speedway during CES and the Monza F1 Circuit in Italy. IAC and its university teams have achieved world records for high-speed ground-based autonomy. World records include the autonomous land speed record (192.2 mph), the top speed on-track (180 mph), the fastest on-track head-to-head overtake (177 mph), and most miles of autonomous racing (7,500 miles), according to IAC organizers.

“Three years ago, we gathered the best and brightest minds from universities around the world to make history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, proving that autonomous racing is possible and launching a global effort to accelerate the pursuit of high-speed autonomous mobility,” says Paul Mitchell, president of the Indy Autonomous Challenge. “After setting many records and proving that autonomous vehicles can race at extreme speeds, we are returning home to the Racing Capital of the World to attempt an even more ambitious head-to-head race.”

The upcoming race at IMS, which is being held in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), will be a head-to-head race of multiple IAC AV-24 autonomous racecars. Teams from leading research universities worldwide will push the limits of autonomous technology, on the iconic oval track, according to IAC. This race is designed to offer a glimpse into the future of mobility, where AI drivers can operate autonomous vehicles safely on highways at high speeds, reducing the risk of accidents, according to IAC.

Here are the 10 teams representing 18 universities from five countries:

• AI Racing Tech—University of California, Berkeley, with University of Hawai'i, University of California, San Diego, and Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
• Autonomous Tiger Racing—Auburn University (Alabama)
• Black & Gold Autonomous Racing—Purdue University (Indiana)
• Cavalier Autonomous Racing—University of Virginia
• KAIST—Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea)
• Luddy Autonomous Racing—Indiana University
• MIT-PITT-RW—Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pittsburgh (PA), Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), & University of Waterloo (Canada)
• PoliMOVE-MSU—Politecnico di Milano (Italy), Michigan State University, University of Alabama 
• TUM Autonomous Motorsport—echnische Universität München (Germany)
• UNIMORE Racing—University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy)

The race will attract thousands of attendees from government, industry, and academia including 2,000 high school students studying science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The race event will be live-streamed worldwide for those who cannot attend in person.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.