Lockheed Martin offers $250k prize for AI drone that can beat a human pilot

Drones could soon be flown by autonomous AI pilots if Lockheed Martin has any say. The aerospace giant is partnering with the Drone Racing League to pit humans and AI against one another to see which can navigate a drone through a high-flying course the fastest. Called the AlphaPilot Innovation Challenge, teams must craft AI system based around Nvidia's Jetson deep learning technology and fly the drone without any pre-programming or human intervention. Lockheed Martin is partnering with ESPN's Drone Racing League to pit humans and AI against one another to see which can navigate a drone through a high-flying course the fastest The first team that can outrun a human DRL pilot wins a $250,000 reward, while the grand prize winner can claim up to $1 million. The winning AI system could spell the future of autonomous drone operations, according to Lockheed Martin.