An international autonomous racing series with electric-powered vehicles will use Trimble’s Applanix POS LVX GNSS-inertial systems in all of its next-generation autonomous race cars in 2021, as part of an extensive technology and marketing partnership. The ROBORACE series of events, set to begin in September, was created to accelerate the development of autonomous software by pushing the technology to its limits in a range of controlled environments.
Trimble will enable ROBORACE’s engineering team to leverage Trimble resources such as technology, services and expertise that it provides across a wide variety of industries and applications in the rapidly expanding area of positioning and autonomy. The company will also serve as the Official GNSS-Inertial Positioning Technology Partner. Other partners with the race include Arrival, Acronis, Michelin and Invidia.
Trimble provides on-road and off-road vehicle manufacturers the technology and engineering expertise necessary to support and augment their driverless vehicle development and production programs. The systems deliver a navigation solution that is fully customizable and includes integration and engineering services, field-tested hardware and proprietary software for highly accurate positioning. In addition, the technology enables highly accurate assessments of the full 360-degree environment around a vehicle to produce a robust representation, including static and dynamic objects, critical for successful vehicle autonomy.
Designed to operate under the most difficult GNSS conditions found in urban and suburban environments, Trimble’s Applanix POS LV enables accurate positioning for road geometry, pavement inspection, GIS database and asset management, road surveying, as well as for vehicle dynamics and autonomous vehicle systems. The POS LVX configurations consists of a POS LV housed in a robust, rugged enclosure and easily incorporated into small vehicles, autonomous platforms and tight spaces of all types.
In 2019, a ROBORACE Alpha series held six events that set a Guinness World Record for the fastest autonomous car in the world, reaching a speed of 282.42 km/h (175.49 mph).
In September 2020, Roborace began its Beta series with six teams competing at various locations through May 2021. With the slogan “We’re not trying to outcool anyone — we’re trying out-nerd everyone!” the Roborace Metaverse presented a mixed reality blending virtual and physical worlds for teams and fans alike.
