LAS VEGAS—Nine university teams from around the world recently competed in a head-to-head race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway as part of the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC). It was the world’s first successful completion of a multi-car autonomous race.

Four AV-24 race cars piloted by AI drivers competed in a 20-lap exhibition race. The race ended in a side-by-side photo finish, with UNIMORE Racing (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, which is located in Modena, Italy, the ancestral home of Ferrari) crossing the finish line less than three-tenths of a second faster than Cavalier Autonomous Racing (University of Virginia).

The race highlighted how the four-year-old IAC series is advancing technology to improve the safety of high-speed autonomy. For the first time in the history of motor sports racing, the unmanned race cars completed a full race with multiple overtakes and no accidents.

“Since our first race in 2021, the IAC and our university teams have been making history with the world’s fastest autonomous racecars, from setting speed records to introducing the world to head-to-head autonomous racing,” says Paul Mitchell, president and CEO if IAC. “But, our goal has always been multi-agent racing.

“So, being the first to have all our AI drivers complete a race and do so with five overtakes, no accidents and a nose-to-nose finish, is a testament to the progress of the IAC’s global ecosystem of highly talented university researchers, industry partners and government supporters,” explains Mitchell.

The first IAC event took place in October 2021 at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.