ASPIRE, the programme management arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), has launched a new STEM Programme under the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL), to inspire and educate the engineers and scientists of the future. It will see students aged 16 to 21 compete in teams to programme autonomous scale racecars. The A2RL STEM Programme is supported by YAS In Schools, a youth-focused initiative that offers schools project-based STEM learning programmes and Autonoma Labs, a company with a mission to create a safer autonomous future.
A2RL is a new race series where eight teams spanning North America, Europe, the UAE, and Asia will battle it out with completely autonomous racecars for a stake in the US $2.25 million prize purse. The series aims to accelerate autonomous development and innovation, pushing the technology forward for the eventual benefit of road safety.
Ahead of the official A2RL competition day, all 173 students of the A2RL STEM Programme will compete in their own set of challenges and races. They will come together from 18 different public and private institutions, including high schools, universities, robotic institutions, and one international team from the Boys & Girls Club of Detroit, in the USA.
Throughout the Programme, teams will be tasked with developing the systems to automate control of a one-eighth-scale, electric-powered, four-wheel-drive racecar. With a top speed of 100 km/h and up to 1.6 G of acceleration, these are highly capable machines with a host of advanced technology and control systems to enable autonomous racing.
The A2RL STEM Programme includes 19 workshops intended to give teams the skills and knowledge to develop control systems for their small-scale autonomous racecars. The curriculum is comprised of 11 online lectures ranging from the “Fundamentals of Autonomous Vehicles” to “Strategy, Race Control, and Decision Making” while eight practical exercises will reinforce learning using a state-of-the-art cloud-based simulator.
In the middle of April, a number of teams will be selected to officially compete in Abu Dhabi. These teams and their control systems will be put to the ultimate test in a qualification phase and race day on the 27th of April. This event will take place at the A2RL Fan Zone as part of the main A2RL event, which will involve autonomous Super Formula racecars competing in a series of challenges at up to 300 km/h around the world-famous Yas Marina Circuit.
Stephane Timpano, CEO at ASPIRE, commented: “To meet the challenges of humanity’s future, we must inspire, nurture, and invest in, the next generation of STEM talent. We have been thrilled with the engagement and excitement of students in response to our A2RL STEM Programme. It is an exhilarating and practical way to teach, learn, and discover some of the fundamental technologies behind autonomous vehicles and the fast-paced world of motorsport.”
