A2RL – Performance Engineering Support in an Autonomous Formula Racing Series
Our team provided performance engineering support to the HUMDA Lab racing team in the A2RL (Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League) — the world’s first multi-vehicle autonomous formula racing championship.
The A2RL pushes the boundaries of future mobility by integrating artificial intelligence (AI), autonomy, and extreme sports in a competitive racing format.
The opening race took place on April 27, 2024, at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, where HUMDA Lab finished 5th overall – the highest-ranked rookie team – placing just behind prestigious institutions like KAUST, Politecnico di Milano, and ETH Zürich.
Our Engineering Contribution
Testing and fine-tuning autonomous algorithms in simulation environments
Analyzing and optimizing trajectories and speed profiles tailored to the circuit and race conditions
Developing data visualization tools for real-time and simulated data
Supporting real-world vehicle testing and operational workflows
Contributing to the design and execution of race-day operations and decision-making processes
We took advantage of a unique engineering opportunity by utilizing the VR-based simulation environment provided by the organizers. This allowed our engineer to virtually “step into” the car and anticipate how the AI behaves on the track. A highly valuable tool on test days, especially for understanding how the AI driver behaves on a real-life race track and comparing it with how it behaves in the simulation.
