In an event-first, Roborace’s fully autonomous Robocar completed the Goodwood Hill Climb during the 2018 Festival of Speed over the weekend.
The Robocar is the first driverless car to complete the 1.16-mile course, using sensors and artificial intelligence to navigate up the track.
With the futuristic body designed by Daniel Simon, who has drawn up vehicles for films such as Oblivion and Tron: Legacy, the autonomous car can detect the environment around it so it knows where it can drive and distinguish obstacles.
The Robocar’s top speed was limited to 74mph so onlookers could get a closer look at the electric car, as well as reducing the risk of harming anyone if anything went wrong.
Using four electric motors – one to power each wheel – that combine to create more than 500bhp, the 1,350kg car will be used as part of a support series for the Formula E world championship with teams all using the same chassis but attempting to outdo each other by altering the AI driver algorithm.
Rob Chong, Roborace deputy chief executive officer, said: “We are ecstatic that the team have been able to achieve this landmark run and we hope that it draws attention to the amazing advances that are being made in the automotive industry.
“Robocar is an ambassador for the future technologies we will see on our roads and we hope that inspirational stunts like this will change public perceptions of autonomous vehicles.”