Roborace's autonomous 'Robocar' will attempt the infamous hill climb at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.
The Robocar, which was designed by futuristic automotive designer Daniel Simpson, uses AI technology for navigation, relying on 15 ultrasonic sensors, six computer vision cameras, five lidar and two radars to achieve its autonomous title.
"We are excited that the Duke of Richmond [founder of the FoS] has invited us to make history at Goodwood as we attempt the first ever fully – and truly – autonomous uphill climb using only artificial intelligence," said Lucas di Grassi, Season Three Formula E champion and CEO of Roborace.
With four electric motors, which, when combined, produce over 500hp, the Robocar is expected to be capable of reaching speeds of over 190mph while this is aided by its efficient aerodynamic 'teardrop' design.
Goodwood's hill climb, which is 1.16 miles long, has an elevation change of 92.7m and its record is currently held by Nick Heidfeld who completed the run in 41.6 seconds when driving McLaren's championship-winning MP4/13 Formula 1 car of 1998.
"The Goodwood hillclimb presents a real challenge for level four/level five autonomous driving systems," said Sergey Malygin, Arrival's chief of software and artificial intelligence.
"It is a narrow track with complex geometry. Turns and hills with a great deal of tree coverage mean you can't rely on GPS/RTK signal for localisation.
"Use of all advanced sensors, including LiDARs and cameras with deep learning-based computer vision methods are needed to perform well at this course."
The 2018 Festival of Speed marks the 25th running of the event and Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Duke of Richmond, couldn't think of a more fitting way to celebrate the occasion than Roborace's Robocar attempting the hill climb:
"I can't think of a more exciting way to celebrate our Silver Jubilee than to have Roborace attempt the first autonomous race car run up the hill," he said.
"Roborace plays an important role in the future of mobility, challenging public perceptions and providing a platform to advance new technologies. This makes them the perfect partner to undertake this significant feat."
The 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed will take place on July 12-15.
