Driverless Racing & the AI-Ready Workforce #news #science #indycar #ai

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Autonomous racing is not just helping researchers test the future of driverless technology. It is also helping train the AI ready workforce of the future.

[00:00:11]US National Science Foundation supported researcher Madhur Behl is using the high-pressure, high-speed testing ground of race cars to develop the advanced algorithms and cyber-physical systems behind autonomous vehicles. These are the kind of principal research learnings that can translate from the racing domain very directly into real-world technology. In Behl's lab, the students are not just studying AI and robotics.

[00:00:37]Through the lens of autonomous racing, students learn the foundations of autonomous systems such as perception, planning, and control. The students are now armed with the skill set of real-world experience. They pretty much worked already inside of a autonomous driving company up top.

[00:00:55]>> [music] >> You know, it's a very compelling job interview when you sit across from the table and show footage of the car running at Indianapolis. This kind of hands-on experience helps graduate students move from the classroom into positions at today's leading AI technology companies. Another example of how NSF investments support more than foundational discoveries. They prepare an AI fluent workforce ready to lead in AI and other emerging technologies.

[00:01:24]Learn more about this research in NSF's Discovery Files podcast, Autonomous Racing.