AIDA | PERFORMANCE aims to validate and refine autonomous driving technology at high speeds and in complex, challenging situations, with the goal of ensuring a quick and effective response to emergencies.

BEYOND THE LIMITS

The Politecnico di Milano brings autonomous driving to speeds never before tested on a production vehicle. 

Cape Canaveral

On February 24, 2025, the Indy Autonomous Challenge Maserati MC20 Coupé, guided by artificial intelligence from Politecnico di Milano and modified to run autonomously, achieved a groundbreaking milestone at the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch and Landing Facility (LLF) in Cape Canaveral, Florida.   

The AI driver software was developed by the PoliMOVE-MSU team, part of AIDA | Performance. The vehicle reached a speed of 197.7 mph (318 km/h), surpassing the previous record of 192.8 mph, set by the same team in 2022.  This achievement underscores significant progress in autonomous driving technology and highlights the advancements in high-speed AI-driven performance.    

RESULTS:

MAX SPEED: 197.7 mph

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Piacenza

The project includes a series of incremental high-speed tests with the Politecnico di Milano’s Maserati MC20 Coupé, driven by the AI-driver developed by the AIDA team. During a test session in the late afternoon of November 7, 2024, the vehicle reached a record speed of 285 km/h, challenging dense fog conditions on the runway of the Italian Air Force’s Piacenza San Damiano Airport, a track with an ideal length for high-speed trials. This achievement marks the first world speed record for a production car fully driven by an AI-driver, with no human supervisor on board. 

RESULTS:

MAX SPEED: 285 km/h 

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    ROBO-HILLCLIMB

    For the first time in an uphill competition, an autonomous car climbs the ramps of the 53rd Trofeo Vallecamonica in the summer of 2024 as the lead car, marking the debut of an AI-driven vehicle in a hill climb event. 

    On July 13 and 14 2024, the AIDA team participated as the lead car in the 53rd edition of the Trofeo Vallecamonica with the Politecnico di Milano’s Maserati MC20 Cielo, completing the entire hill climb route in autonomous driving mode while fully complying with the regulations.  

    RESULTS:

    • Completion of a run entirely in autonomous driving mode, without supervisor intervention. 
    • Ten days of testing on the roads of Malegno, Ossimo, and Borno, characterized by steep slopes and tight hairpin turns, posed a significant challenge for the vehicle’s localization and control systems. The difficult connectivity conditions, with poor Internet and GPS reception typical of mountain roads, further tested the system’s technological capabilities. 

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    Technical Partner 

    POLIMOVE

    POLIMOVE AUTONOMOUS RACING TEAM:

     

     The PolimOve Autonomous Racing Team, part of the AIDA division Performance, is a group that works on developing autonomous driving algorithms for sports competitions. Active since 2021, it has achieved significant results, winning numerous international competitions and competing against research teams from other renowned universities around the world. The team currently participates in two championships: 

    • Indy Autonomous Challenge 
    • A2RL – Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League  

    The development of autonomous driving algorithms for track competitions and reaching very high speeds plays a crucial role in the progress of technology applied to production vehicles tested on public roads, serving as an opportunity for research and innovation. 

    INDY AUTONOMUS CHALLENGE (IAC) 

    The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) is a competition that brings together university teams from around the world to compete in a series of challenges using race cars equipped with autonomous driving technology. The goal of the IAC is to advance the development of fully autonomous vehicle technology to enhance safety and performance of “real-world problems”. All vehicles share a common hardware base across teams, ensuring that the competition focuses on the development of autonomous driving software based on AI. The Polimove Autonomous Racing Team competes in the challenge with a fully autonomous Dallara AV-24 race car. 

    For further details: https://www.indyautonomouschallenge.com/  

    PALMARÈS:

    • 1st place, Las Vegas Motor speedway, CES January 2022 (first head to head competition at 280 kmh)
    • 1st place, Texas Motor speedway, November 2022 (cold temperature and wet weather conditions, max speed 225 kmh)
    • 1st place, Las Vegas Motor speedway, CES January 2023 (speed record on oval circuit 290 kmh)
    • 1st place, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, MIMO June 2023 (speed record in roadcourse circuit 273 kmh and fastest lap in 2:05.87)
    • 1st place, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis September 2024 (first in the head to head competition 290 kmh)
    OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS:

    • Cape Canaveral, Nasa Kennedy Space Center, April 2022 Autonomous land speed world record Dallara AV-21  
    1. Maximum speed: 311.9 km/h (192.8 mph) 
    • Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 2024 Autonomous uphill record with Dallara AV-24:  
    1. 1.86 km uphill in 66.4 seconds
    2. Maximum speed: 179km/h

    A2RL

    A2RL is a series of racing competitions featuring autonomous vehicles with no driver on board. Created by ASPIRE, its goal is to showcase new autonomous driving technologies on a global stage, promoting their development and adoption. Each year, teams from universities around the world compete to develop the fastest and most advanced racing artificial intelligence. 

    For further information: https://a2rl.io/ 

    PALMARÈS

    • 1st place in attack defense competition  
    • 1st place in time trial competition   
    • Best officially timed lap time of all 1:57.854  
    • Lap time of Time Trial 2:00.653 within the 15% range of the lap time of an F1 driver