Roborace DevBot Self-Driving Racecar Needs No Humans To Win

The most common argument used by self-driving car proponents like Google is that these vehicles, which practically robots, are better at maintaining road and driver safety than humans have proven to be. DevBot, however, is different. While its own survival is probably a key consideration, it is more interested in speeding. Because, yes, DevBot is the prototype for a robotic, fully automated, self-driving racecar for Forumula E's Roborace and it will be zooming, not cruising, on a race track soon. The NHTSA's worst nightmare.

Of course, DevBot will drive nowhere near public highways, so government agencies can sleep more easily. And while Roborace wants the self-driving racecar to go as fast as 180 mph, the video below would prove it is far from reaching that dream. The fact that it can drive at that speed, without a human inside, is, however, still an achievement. Or perhaps it is easier to achieve that when you don't have to worry about pedestrians or animals.

Car racing has been branching out to new frontiers, from fully electric vehicles to, soon, fully automated racecars. Formula E, which embraces both, unveiled the Roborace only late last year. Judging by the barebones appearance of the DevBot, we're still quite far from seeing the first serious driverless race.

At the moment, DevBot has barely any chassis and the only covering of any sort is in the somewhat bulbous cockpit. Of course, the final race-worthy versions will bear their team's designs, but each team is only allowed to tweak the software and algorithms of the racecar while machinery remains standard across all teams.

Although not exactly a test of its mettle, the DevBot will be rolling out, sans driver, at Donington Park on 24th August, where Formula E will be holding its open practices. As for the Roborace itself, it's still slated to take place sometime within the 2016-2017 season.

SOURCE: @Roborace