Autonomous race cars move closer to reality

So, it looks like this driverless racing thing is really happening. [How many more years will it be before race drivers are obsolete? What is the racing community doing about it?]

Roboraces — true autonomous races — are scheduled to take place during the 2016-17 Formula E season, and a DevBot developmental car is expected to be shown to the public for the first time at the Formula E open practice sessions at Donington, England on Aug. 24.

The primary purpose of the DevBot is to allow teams to develop their software and experience the hardware that will be used on the Robocars.

Unlike the Robocar racer, the electric-powered DevBot is built with a driver cabin to allow teams to fully understand how the car thinks and feels on a racetrack. The DevBot is also equipped with the same drivetrain, sensors, computation systems and communication technology as the Robocar designed by Daniel Simon which will be unveiled before the end of the year.

In recent testing, the DevBot drove itself around the Silverstone International Circuit in England.

The DevBot has been in development for nine months. AutoWeek