Abu Dhabi has formally launched what it is calling the world's biggest racing league for self-driving cars powered by artificial intelligence in a move aimed at promoting driverless technology.
The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) will be held on April 28, 2024, at the Yas Marina Circuit, with 10 teams vying for prizes amounting to $2.25 million, Aspire, the programme development arm of the UAE capital's Advanced Technology Research Council, said at the Gitex Global technology conference on Monday.
The teams will comprise universities and research organisations from the UAE, China, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Singapore, Switzerland and the US.
The league will be supported by the Japan Race Promotion, which manages the Japanese Super Formula Championship.
Teams will be granted exclusive access to a brand new Dallara Super Formula SF23 car developed by the Italian company, which has been given self-driving capabilities specifically for the league.
The car is manufactured using sustainable biocomposite materials, weighs 690kg and is currently the fastest open-wheel racer in the world after Formula One vehicles, reaching maximum speeds of 300kph.
The 10 teams will have the opportunity to adapt the software algorithms of their race car.
"We combine talent, technology and extreme sports in order to forge a pathway to the future of mobility," Aspire's executive director Tom McCarthy said at the launch.
"We will combine state-of-the-art motor racing parts with robotic technology and AI to deliver an extreme sporting experience."
The A2RL is expected to also branch out to other sectors linked to Abu Dhabi's research and development and hobby ecosystems to promote the advancement of innovation and AI, he said.
"Our racing is not just applicable to transportation. It is also useful in advancing sectors such as health care and logistics. And to that end, in addition to car racing, we will stage autonomous drone racing and autonomous buggy racing," Mr McCarthy said.
"We will also stimulate the interest of youth by organising Stem [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] racers where high school students can compete using scaled down versions of this car and race autonomously."
The league, first announced in March, wants to provide a new way to watch motor racing.
Spectators will have access to virtual reality and augmented reality technology, allowing them to get in the driver's seat and see the action firsthand, with live updates and real-time displays shown on screen.
It is early days for the new strand of motorsport but autonomous racing leagues and events are coming up around the world.
The annual Indy Autonomous Challenge, hosted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the US from 2021, is the first to host a competition involving self-driving cars.
Organisers of the IAC event say they were inspired by those who took part in the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency Grand Challenge, which had a $1 million prize in 2004.
That competition of mostly university-affiliated teams gave rise to the modern self-driving vehicle industry.
Aspire, the organisers of Abu Dhabi's new league, are taking a similar approach, opening to all teams from previous self-driving car competitions, as well as universities and public and private research institutions.
"No driver, no central control – just the coders racing against each other at breakneck speed around the iconic Yas Marina Circuit," Mr McCarthy said.
Aspire is looking to develop other race formats in the future with the help of the latest technology, he said.
"We are listening to the industry and together with them we are designing race formats that will, in essence, be real-world experiments where we will demonstrate ... what autonomous systems can achieve," he said.
"And, in that way, give consumer confidence to having these put into production cars. Our racing will see advanced technology, robotics and autonomous systems introduced into production cars sooner."
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
New schools in Dubai
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
