Energy Systems Network plans next autonomous racecar competition at CES

Indianapolis-based Energy Systems Network plans to host another autonomous racecar competition, this one at CES, the annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association, in Las Vegas.

ESN, which organized the recent Indy Autonomous Challenge, announced Friday that five university teams will take part in a head-to-head passing competition at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Jan. 7.

The competition will include the winner and finalists of the Indy Autonomous Challenge, which took place last month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event will be open to attendees of CES, which is billed as the world’s most influential technology event.

“Our university teams have proven that they can advance autonomous technology by setting world records with high-speed laps and now on the biggest technology stage at CES 2022, they will take it to the next level with a head-to-head passing competition,” said Paul Mitchell, CEO of Energy Systems Network. “The Consumer Technology Association and CES 2022 play a central role in advancing and showcasing autonomous technology worldwide, so we can’t think of a better partner for this next step of the competition.”

The university teams competing in Las Vegas:

• TUM Autonomous Motorsport – Technische Universität München (Germany) (IAC winner)
• PoliMOVE – Politecnico di Milano (Italy), University of Alabama (IAC finalist)
• EuroRacing – University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), University of Pisa (Italy), ETH Zürich (Switzerland), Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) (IAC finalist)
• KAIST, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea)
• MIT-PITT-RW, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pittsburgh, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Waterloo (Canada)

ESN says the primary goal of the competition, like the IAC, is “to advance technology that can speed the commercialization of fully autonomous vehicles and deployments of advanced driver-assistance systems.”

CES 2022 will take place Jan. 5-8.