First time in the world: AI drone beats humans in racing competition

A historic moment has come in the world of technology and racing. A Netherlands team constructed an AI drone that vanquished top human drone pilots from around the globe in a live race in Abu Dhabi. The competition was a part of the A2RLxDCL Autonomous Drone Championship, with the objective of testing the boundaries of autonomous flying.

The competition took place at ADNEC Marina Hall in Abu Dhabi, with 14 countries from across the world participating, some of them being South Korea, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, China, and UAE. Each team would have had to fly their drones solely with AI- no remote, no joystick, no human pilot. Drones sped in excess of 150 km/h on an intricate track with broad gates, irregular lighting, as well as minimal visual references.

The AI ​​drone built by the team from MavLab (TU Delft University, Netherlands) completed two laps of the 170-metre-long track in just 17 seconds. This performance not only won it the AI ​​Grand Challenge, but also a one-on-one race against a professional human pilot who qualified through the DCL Falcon Cup.

All drones were given the same hardware: a front-facing camera, a motion sensor, and a Jetson Orin NX computing unit by NVIDIA. With only these devices, the drones had to make all their own decisions in real-time, figuring out the path, setting speed, turning, etc.

The organisers say that this was one of the toughest drone races ever. Despite technical obstacles such as indoor lighting and rolling shutter cameras, the top teams performed brilliantly, showing just how far AI technology has come.
The event also included other race formats, such as drag races and multi-drone matches, which teams such as TII Racing and MavLab won. Additionally, a STEM programme trained over 100 Emirati students in drone operation, expanding the field even further.