Racing robot cars will help AI learn to adapt to the real world

Two miniature cars are zooming around a loop of track in a new robotics arena. The other is controlled by artificial intelligence – and it's kicking my ass. From August 2017, the University of Essex's robotic games laboratory will pit AI systems against each other in robot challenges, starting with these remote-controlled cars. The AI I'm racing has been honed to complete the track in super-quick time, but the real competitions won't be so straightforward. The rules will change between heats: in one, the cars' brakes might be disabled, in another, obstacles could be added to the track.