Man versus machine learning – A2RL is bringing together human and AI potential on the racetrack

As Daniil Kvyat, who previously raced in Formula 1 for Red Bull and Toro Rosso, lined up on the Suzuka grid last year to take on an AI-controlled rival he had helped programme to beat him, he must have been somewhat conflicted.

The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) is not setting out to end the age of humans taking to the track and racing against one another, rather it is aiming to add to the spectacle by introducing competitive AI-driven racers.

Lap times continue to tumble as programmers get more of a grip on the coding required to make autonomous cars ever-quicker, as Stephane Timpano, chief executive of ASPIRE – the company behind A2RL, explains.

“Last year, in April, we put on the Abu Dhabi track in Yas Marina, eight Super Formula cars with no driver but instead an autonomous kit inside,” he told the Autosport Business Exchange: London.

“The only difference between the teams were the programming and the codes that the teams prepare, and it’s all about putting together AI machine learning for the best outcome.

“While we speak right now, technology is evolving on that side. They don’t compete on the technology of the car, they compete on the ability to educate the car to take the best decisions, not alone, but with other cars together.

“Having four cars totally autonomous on track at race speed, it’s absolutely complicated to realise today. Progressively, we are putting more cars at higher speed together.”

Daniil Kvyat, A2RL testing

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

Racing driverless cars against one another at such speeds is a feat of technology and programming, but Timpano feels pitting an AI-powered car against a human is the best way to ultimately prove what can be done with machine learning.

“We’re also trying to make it sexy for the public,” he said. “We have, for the first time, put this together with a pilot, a human being. So, Daniil, a former Formula 1 driver took the seat in the human car and raced against the machine. It was interesting, when we first put together a human against AI on Yas Marina, we saw a three to four minute difference between the human and the machine.

“The machine was a very painful show to look at. In the last race, we were less than 10 seconds different, and these seconds are getting less and less as we go. Two years from now, we will probably be at the same performance.”

Kvyat’s race against the AI-powered A2RL machine at Suzuka last year was cut short when the car crashed on the formation lap but, while the man was being pitted against the machine, in reality Timpano believes the two entities working together is the way forward.

“More and more actually,” he replied when asked about maximising how humans work with AI.

“We are using ex-Formula 1 drivers to help the teams to code better, to be able to bring more the human part into the way you prepare the car, that’s very fundamental.

“To be honest, I don’t believe we’re going to replace the humans, but I won’t be surprised that in racing, in extreme racing, you will see more and more technology combined with the human pilot to provide the better show.”