‘Roborace’ car makes street track debut in Marrakech

CNN
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It’s a car powered by technology that its developers boldly predict will transform our cities and change the way we live.

Autonomous “DevBot #1” recently made a big leap in Morocco, Formula E Marrakech ePrix.

A battery-powered prototype is being tested Roborace – A proposed race series in which driverless cars race on temporary city circuits.

Roborace’s Justin Cooke told CNN:

“This is very exciting for a team that has put in hours and hours. We were developing the technology.”

Read: Electric race cars show the future of autonomous driving

Using various sensors such as GPS, radar, and ultrasound in conjunction with sophisticated computer programs, the car learns to navigate the track at high speed while avoiding all obstacles.

“What we do is at the forefront of technology right now,” says Cook, who is also Kinetik’s CMO. Kinetik is an investment company founded by Russian businessman Denis Sverdlov, who provides financial support for the project.

“There are two or three types of space races. Some are going to Mars, and we are developing robot cars. Mars is probably the most exciting, if not the most exciting space in the world right now. I think it’s one of the most beautiful universes.”

After a successful 30-minute test in Marrakech, the host city of this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22), Cook said the company next tried to race the two cars together on a track and the final Limited to up to 10 cars each weekend in the Formula E ePrix.

“It is the perfect time for Roborace to attend COP22, which is celebrating the future of electrification, the future of driverless driving,” enthuses Cook.

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“Technology will change our lives, it will change our cities, and above all I want people to get excited about this technology.”