Indy Autonomous Challenge will debut on the FOS Hill in 2024

Since its inception in 2021, the IAC and its university teams have continually developed the AV-24, a fully autonomous racing car built on a Dallara chassis also used in IndyNXT, which has been fundamentally reworked with a robotics platform equipped with LiDAR and RADAR sensors and optical lenses.

In all, ten teams have been involved in the IAC so far, racing at venues including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Speedway, and Monza.

The PoliMOVE-MSU team, which has won four of the six IAC races so far, will be taking control of the car during the Festival of Speed with support from UNIMORE Racing. PoliMOVE is also the current holder of the autonomous land speed record after it ran a sustained 192mph for 1,000 metres with an earlier version of the AV-24 back in 2022.

This latest appearance at the Festival of Speed follows an initial static debut inside FOS Future Lab presented by Randox, where the IAC’s AV-24 showcased advancements in autonomous driving technology. In 2024, it returns to Goodwood to put the theory into practice on the Hill, where the IAC says it will “make its competitive debut in the UK” and put its autonomous technology to the test. We don’t yet know what form that challenge will take, but you can be sure it will be an eye-opening experience.

During that initial visit in 2023, the Technical University of Munich completed a digital scan of the Festival of Speed Hill that this year’s team will be using to program its car for its hillclimb runs. The IAC’s return in 2024 marks the first time a Future Lab exhibitor has graduated out onto the Hill at the Festival of Speed, which highlights just how quickly this technology is progressing.

The event forms part of Goodwood’s FOS Tech strategy, bringing together all technology and future mobility content at the Festival of Speed, the latest automotive technology and alternative fuels with Future Lab and STEM programmes for 11 to 16-year-olds.

Paul Mitchell, IAC President, said: “We are eager to undertake the unique challenges presented by the Goodwood hillclimb. Unlike the familiar ovals and F1 road courses, Goodwood’s hillclimb will challenge the precision of sensor perception, GPS localisation, vehicle dynamics, and path planning in new ways, providing a historical backdrop to showcase the future of high-speed autonomous mobility and the innovative university teams behind it.”

The Duke of Richmond, founder of the Festival of Speed, commented on the festival’s role in showcasing technological innovation: “This year, our new FOS Tech ethos will bring together our future technology and mobility content. Whether exploring Future Lab presented by Randox, Electric Avenue, or enjoying content on the Hill, visitors to the Festival of Speed can experience the work of groundbreaking innovators and their vision for tomorrow’s world.”