The Drone Racing League and Lockheed Martin are hoping to spur the creation of autonomous racing drones that can outpace those piloted by humans.
This week, the two organizations announced a competition, dubbed the AlphaPilot Innovation Challenge, that will challenge teams to develop artificial intelligence to pilot drones without any human intervention. More than $2 million in prizes will be available for winning teams.
The drones will race human-piloted drones through challenging multi-dimensional race courses in DRL’s new Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing (AIRR) Circuit.
The competition encourages groups, comprised of university students, technologists, coders, and drone enthusiasts, to push the boundaries of AI, machine learning, and fully autonomous flight.
The AlphaPilot Innovation Challenge kicks off a multi-year partnership between Lockheed Martin, a government contractor that builds military-grade planes, helicopters, and drones, and the Drone Racing League, a professional circuit for drone racing.
For Lockheed, the competition signals an effort to accelerate the development and testing of fully autonomous craft, which will help it to expand unmanned aircraft into multiple lines of business.
“At Lockheed Martin, we are working to pioneer state-of-the-art, AI-enabled technologies that can help solve some of the world’s most complex challenges—from fighting wildfires and saving lives during natural disasters to exploring the farthest reaches of deep space,” said Lockheed Martin Chief Technology Officer Keoki Jackson, in a statement. “Competitors will have an opportunity to define the future of autonomy and AI and help our world leverage these promising technologies to build a brighter future.”
Since 2016, the DRL has been building 3D racecourses and allowing pilots to tinker with first-person-view drones that can zip through obstacles at 90 miles per hour. The league has also developed a realistic simulator that closely mimics the act of drone flying. That program has opened the sport for up-and-coming pilots from around the world.
“This challenge changes the game,” said DRL CEO and Founder Nicholas Horbaczewski. “How close is AI performance to the world’s best human piloting? We’re excited to find out next year when AlphaPilot drones compete in adrenaline-packed, futuristic drone races on complex courses in the AIRR Circuit.”
SportTechie Takeaway
The DRL has been using sophisticated manual drones and its simulator to attract newcomers to this quickly-evolving sport. This partnership with Lockheed Martin signals an intention to not only enhance competition for the racing series but also to invest in autonomous aircraft technologies that might be applied to a host of other, more industrial functions.