By Mike Mather, mike.mather@virginia.edu
UVA’s autonomous Indy car and its crew took second place in an international racing competition earlier this month and now have sights set on a European victory in June. (Photo illustration by John DiJulio, University Communications; photo by Indy Autonomous Challenge)
After two years of heartbreaking setbacks, the University of Virginia’s self-driving Indy car roared into the finals of a major international race held earlier this month in Las Vegas, taking second place only after the car decided – on its own – to break the rules by preventing its final opponent from passing.
More on that in a moment.
“It’s taken years of very meticulous preparation to get to this point,” said School of Engineering and Applied Science professor Madhur Behl, who leads the team of students. “It was a very tall order, and our backs were against the wall to arrive at the [Consumer Electronics Show], qualify for race day and prove ourselves, all within a span of four days.”