Purdue AI Racing

Indy Autonomous Challenge

The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) showcases the world’s fastest autonomous race cars, racing on world-famous tracks like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Monza Circuit in Italy. Purdue has competed in the IAC since its inception in 2021.

What is Autonomous Racing?

No driver, just software. Imagine driverless autonomous vehicles battling wheel to wheel for track position and podium success. All to help improve the performance and safety for vehicles of tomorrow.

Autonomous racing is the ultimate engineering challenge. The driver is replaced with an array of sensors that act as the eyes and ears of the vehicle, feeding data to a planning and control algorithm that students develop and tune. Machine learning (artificial intelligence) is often used to create humanlike behaviors and interpret complex sensor data. It is a complex mechatronic challenge that offers students hands-on experience in sophisticated systems development.

No driver required: Indy Autonomous Challenge is AI racing at its best

“Drivers, start your engines!” is the traditional call at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But what if the drivers were replaced by computers? Then you’d have the Indy Autonomous Challenge, a new competition featuring the world’s fastest autonomous race cars. Purdue AI Racing recently showcased its car maneuvering autonomously around the track at speeds up to 140 miles an hour.