Humanity triumphed over technology in the first artificial intelligence driving shootout hosted by Roborace.

Supporting the opening round of the 2017-18 Formula E championship, Roborace arranged a track battle between its self-driving software and an amateur driver in British TV presenter Nicki Shields.

The contest took place using Roborace’s “DevBot” machine on Hong Kong’s 1.86 kilometre-long waterfront circuit. Based on a Ginetta LMP3 sports car chassis, the DevBot replaces that car’s V8 engine with four electric motors pumping out around 560kW of power. Dozens of sophisticated cameras and sensors on the $1 million car allow its computer brain to see and feel its way around circuits that could eventually host a one-make racing series intended to draw out the world’s best programmers.



Unlike the low-slung Robocar, Roborace’s DevBot has space and controls necessary to accommodate a human driver. Sometimes used to calibrate the vehicle and teach it how to drive around a track, the car’s steering wheel and pedals made it possible to host a back-to-back shootout between a determined driver and the machine’s autonomous software.

Shields’ best lap time of 1m26.6s could not be matched by the car, which recorded a 1m34s effort as its best lap time. Both “drivers” recorded several timed laps, with the autonomous vehicle proving more consistent around the track.

It even swerved to avoid a pigeon standing on the circuit.



Roborace spokeswoman Victoria Tomlinson says the team was happy with how the car performed.

“We’ve already challenged her to a rematch,” she says.

“It’s a tricky environment because of the high rises and all the radio frequencies around here - there are 8.5 million people here and they all have a device in their pocket.”

While the autonomous software was reasonably close to Shields, Roborace engineers say the DevBot is capable of matching a Formula E car for ultimate pace, which would involve trimming 30 seconds from its best time.

“It took Max Verstappen 17 years since birth to win a race in Formula 1,” Tomlinson says.

"We are trying to get to that level - to make it as good as the best drivers in Formula 1 – in a shorter time.”

The team will switch to futuristic-looking driverless Roboracer machines in the near future.



Speaking before the event took place, Roborace chief executive and 2016-17 Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi said “the true purpose of Roborace is not to replace motorsport”.

“It’s to go beyond where motorsport can go. It’s impossible to predict the limits of this technology,” he says.

“Nobody wants to see the sport, motorsport, autonomous.

“They want to see drivers fighting each other... motorsport will have to split into that pure sport and a technology driven series, and we want to be that technology driven series.”