The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) is returning this year with the next event confirmed for 15th November 2025 at the Yas Marina Circuit.
After a successful debut in April 2024, the A2RL attracted over 10,000 fans to the circuit and more than a million global streaming views. This year promises to build on that momentum with new teams, upgraded race tech, and a push to advance AI in high-performance environments.
Here’s what you need to know about the cars that compete in the race without human intervention:
1. Driverless Design
- No cockpit or driver seat: Instead of a human driver, the A2RL car has a range of advanced electronic systems and computing hardware.
- Externally, the car looks like a regular high-performance race car but has no space for a driver.
2. High-Precision GPS
- Dual-antenna GPS system: One antenna is mounted on the nose, and another near the roll hoop by the VR camera pod.
- Purpose: This setup enables self-localisation, helping the car know its precise position on the track, accurate to within tens of centimetres.
3. Sensors for Awareness
- Radar: Sends out electromagnetic waves and measures the return time to detect obstacles by distance. Good for identifying large or fast-moving objects.
- LIDAR: Uses laser light to build a detailed 3D map of the environment at high frequency. Essential for real-time object detection and tracking.
- Cameras: Each car uses seven cameras – six front-facing, one rear-facing. These are part of the Camera Line system, which helps the vehicle track other cars as they approach, overtake, or are overtaken.
4. Autonomous Driving Capabilities
- Autonomous Operation: The car makes all driving decisions, such as steering, braking, and accelerating, using software.
- Speed: The vehicle is a Super Formula car, second only to Formula 1 in terms of speed and performance.
5. Real-Time Data Processing
- Each lap generates tens of gigabytes of data from all sensors and systems.
- Inside the car is a high-performance GPU-powered computer (the “brain”) which:
- Takes in sensor inputs
- Processes surroundings
- Makes driving decisions in real-time
6. Competitive AI Programming
- Eight teams compete in the A2RL by uploading their own driving code to the car’s blank computer system.
- Teams use AI and advanced algorithms to make the best use of sensor data and track navigation.
I’m definitely looking forward to watching the next race in November!
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