Roborace to attempt autonomous hillclimb at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018

The technology firm's autonomous race car, Robocar, will take on the famous 1.87km track guided only by automated systems. The vehicle will be tasked with navigating hay bales, flint walls and forests on the Goodwood estate, using a variety of sensors that give it 360-degree machine vision around the car.

The announcement comes after Robocar took centre stage in the FoS Future Lab at last year's Festival of Speed, making it the natural challenger to try and become the first autonomous vehicle to complete the iconic run. Lucas di Grassi, CEO of Roborace, said, "We are excited that the Duke of Richmond has invited us to make history at Goodwood as we attempt the first ever fully - and truly - autonomous uphill climb using only artificial intelligence."

Robocar, the world's first autonomous race car, was designed by Daniel Simon, the automotive futurist known for his work in Hollywood films such as Oblivion and Tron. The autonomous run presents a milestone for the Goodwood event as the Festival of Speed celebrates its 25^th anniversary, having been staged every summer since 1993. The Festival is renowned for attracting the rarest and most exciting road and race cars and bikes ever created.