My Wild Ride in a Robot Race Car

WIRED sent me to ride shotgun in an autonomous race car. It was terrifying in the best possible way.

The Experience

There’s a difference between trusting a self-driving car at highway speeds and trusting one at racing speeds. At 60 mph, you have time to think “huh, that’s interesting” when the car does something unexpected. At 150 mph, you just hold on.

What I Learned

Racing pushes autonomous systems to their absolute limits. The reaction times required, the precision, the ability to predict what other cars (robot or human) will do — it’s orders of magnitude harder than highway driving.

But that’s exactly why it matters. The lessons learned at the limit filter down to make everyday autonomy better.

The Story

WIRED captured the whole experience.

📰 Read “My Wild Ride in a Robot Race Car” →