In an attempt to drive interest and research into autonomous vehicles, the Drone Racing League and Lockheed Martin have partnered up to create the AlphaPilot competition. How it works: 430 teams, each armed with an autonomous drone, are currently participating in qualifying rounds. Nine make the Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing Circuit finals, where the winners will go home with $1 million. If a team's A.I. drone can also beat a human pilot head-to-head, they get an extra $250,000. Why it matters: Autonomous drones are part of our future. And for them to be useful in places like disaster areas, they need to be able to fly fast, far and without human oversight.
Lockheed Martin has partnered with the Drone Racing League to create the AlphaPilot competition. The tournament is designed to encourage research into autonomous vehicles, which will have important future applications, such as in disaster response. In a statement released by the DRL, DARPA said that it was “proud of our partnership with Lockheed Martin, and we look forward to working together on this exciting new challenge.”