Roborace to replace F1 racing drivers with robots at Disrupt

Formula E is so 2017. This year, it’s all about Roborace, an upcoming F1-style competition. And the big new thing is that it’s all about self-driving cars. I’m excited to announce that Roborace CEO Lucas DiGrassi will come to TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin to talk about this crazy idea.

DiGrassi may sound like a familiar name already as he’s also a racing driver. He has competed in Formula One, Formula E and the World Endurance Championship. He’s also the current Formula E Champion. Clearly, DiGrassi is much better at parallel parking than I’ll ever be.

Racing has always been a great way to break new grounds for car manufacturers. Many of the technologies that you can find in your current car were first developed for endurance and Formula One competitions.

And it seems logical that the next radical step involves removing the driver altogether. Roborace will be a competition with self-driving cars that run using electric motors. Cars will compete on the Formula E tracks.

Teams will share the same chassis, powertrain, sensors and Nvidia Drive PX 2 system on a chip. You can find radars, lidars and other sensors on each car. But, of course, each team will be able to customize their AI-powered algorithm to beat competitors.

Right now, Roborace is testing the racing format alongside Formula E events. Sometimes, it involves putting an actual human being in a development car called a “DevBot”.

I’m incredibly excited about meeting DiGrassi and talking about this new competition. And if you want to meet him too, you should buy your ticket to Disrupt Berlin to listen to this discussion and many others. The conference will take place on November 29-30.

In addition to fireside chats and panels, like this one, new startups will participate in the Startup Battlefield Europe to win the highly coveted Battlefield cup.

Lucas DiGrassi

CEO, Roborace

Lucas DiGrassi is the CEO of Roborace, the world’s first competition for human and artificial intelligent racing, making autonomous technology exciting and inspirational for a new generation of spectators.

Lucas is also a racing driver who has competed in Formula One, Formula E and the World Endurance Championship and is the current Formula E Champion.

He has been instrumental in building and growing the Formula E series over the past six years having joined as Special Advisor for the FE CEO Alejandro Agag back in 2012.

He is now bringing his business experience and extensive knowledge of racing, to Roborace, helping grow it into an established competition and cooperation of human and AI intelligence.