Self-Driving Car Completes Iconic Goodwood Hill Climb

The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed features drivers taking on the iconic Goodwood hill climb. They have to navigate narrow passages lined with hay and brick to complete the gradual 300-foot ascent. It requires a certain amount of skill on part of the driver to finish the climb against the clock but Roborace has demonstrated that a self-driving car can tackle the climb just as well.

It wasn’t the only autonomous vehicle taking on the hill climb. Siemens came to the event with a self-driving Ford Mustang that carried the Duke of Richmond, the founder of the Goodwood festival.

The car managed to complete its run but the safety driver had to take over a few times to prevent the car from crashing into the hay bales. The intervention was required from the safety driver even though the Siemens’ team had 3D mapped the course and plotted the route in advance.

On the other hand, Roborace was able to perform the climb entirely on its own. It completed the climb without any problems following a practice run. The video shows that the autonomous car was fully capable of handling the elevation change and is certainly a delight to watch if you’re into cars yourself.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Transportation
Tags: autonomous cars