At Umex in Abu Dhabi, autonomous drone racing is being presented not as a futuristic novelty, but as a practical public test of how artificial intelligence performs under real-world pressure. The competition is a highlight of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) programme at the exhibition dedicated to unmanned and autonomous systems, taking place at Adnec until Thursday.
“The drone race is part of a broader A2RL engagement,” says Stephane Timpano, chief executive at Aspire. A2RL is already known for its autonomous car races, and the drone competition follows the same core idea: using racing at high speed as a test bed for autonomous systems.
Timpano points to the progress made in autonomous vehicle racing. “For the first time ever, we put six cars at the same time, autonomous cars on track,” he says. “They gave a very good show with overtakes, with no incidents, with very high-speed cars.” The event also included an AI-versus-human race, which demonstrated how quickly the performance gap has closed.
The race environment is also different. “We don’t do it on a big circuit like Yas Marina Circuit, we do it on a track which is 27 by 35 metres. But the concept is the same, being able to use racing at high speed as a test bed for autonomous solutions.”
The A2RL Drones Challenge brings together six autonomous AI teams selected through a lengthy qualification process and six elite human FPV pilots. “The six that we have selected have all been world champions at least once,” Timpano says, adding that they are “people that know how to do it".
What makes drone racing particularly revealing is how close autonomy has come to human performance. “On drones, what is interesting is that it’s even closer compared to the cars,” he says.
The races are structured to test different dimensions of autonomy. “They will compete on pure speed,” Timpano explains. “They will have to cross the full track at the best speed. Just to give you an idea, our drones reach 35 metres per second, so it’s extremely challenging to even follow them with your own eyes.”
Another format introduces several drones racing at the same time. In these races, autonomous systems must avoid collisions and respond dynamically to other drones "in total autonomy”.
But the most anticipated format is AI versus human, where four of the best AI teams will compete with four best pilots. “When it comes to having AI versus human, it becomes personal, and the people tend to support the human pilot instead of the AI pilot," points out Timpano.
“Last year during the first race, AI won against human competitors. Why? Because the human made a mistake.” But he believes this year’s competition will be even closer.
Education is another pillar of the programme. “Every time we do A2RL event… there is always a Stem angle,” Timpano says. Students are introduced to AI, drone technology and simulators used by professional teams, helping to build long-term understanding of autonomous systems.
The sight of autonomous drones racing through tight indoor courses at Umex is quite the spectacle. But for organisers, the focus is firmly on what happens beyond the track. By pushing AI systems to their limits in public view, A2RL aims to show not only how far autonomy has come, but how close it is to real-world deployment.
“We want to be recognised as a key innovation player locally and globally,” Timpano says.
