---
title: "Drone Racing: The Next Battleground For AI to Try to Dominate Humans"
description: "The Drone Racing League (DRL) is launching the Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing (AIRR) Circuit, a series of competitions involving autonomous drones."
date: "2018-09-07"
modified: "2018-09-07"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/autonomous-drones-racing"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Drones"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "drone"
  - "drone racing"
  - "the digest"
---

# Drone Racing: The Next Battleground For AI to Try to Dominate Humans

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/drone-racing-league-prize.png>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://thedroneracingleague.com/" target="\_blank"\>Drone Racing League\</a\>\</em\>*

**THE NEXT BATTLEFIELD.** Artificial intelligence (AI) has been gradually [kicking human butt](<https://futurism.com/category/artificial-intelligence>) in competitions. Now, it will have a new venue in which to (try to) assert its dominance over humanity: drone racing.

On Wednesday, [*VentureBeat* reported](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/5/17822384/ai-autonomous-drone-quadcopter-pilot-drl-drone-racing-league-2019>) that the [Drone Racing League (DRL)](<https://thedroneracingleague.com/>) plans to launch the Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing (AIRR) Circuit, a series of competitions between autonomous drones and their human-piloted counterparts.

**AI VS. AI.** In 2019, autonomous drones — ones capable of navigating complex courses without any supervision from humans or preprogramming — will compete against one another in four races, DRL CEO Nicholas Horbaczewski told *VentureBeat* via an email. The team responsible for the winning drone will receive $1 million prize provided by Lockheed Martin.

**HUMAN VS. MACHINE.** At the end of the AIRR season, the winning autonomous drone will race against the 2019 DRL champion. If it wins, the team receives another $250,000, but Horbaczewski doesn't think that's likely. “In 2019, we’re fairly certain the human pilot will win. By 2020, it’s anyone’s race,” he told *VentureBeat*.

If a human pilot does come out on top, that $250,000 prize rolls over into the following season, and with that much money on the line, it's seeming only a matter of time before we add "drone racing" to the list of competitions in which we just can't keep up with AI.

**READ MORE:** [Drone Racing League Launches $2 Million Autonomous Drone Competition](<https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/05/drone-racing-league-launches-2-million-autonomous-drone-competition/>) \[*VentureBeat*\]

***More on AI vs. humans: [AI Couldn’t Beat a Team of Professional Gamers at DOTA 2, but It Held Its Own](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-five-dota2.md>)***

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)

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- [Ball-Tracking AI Can Predict Your Tennis Opponent’s Next Shot](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tennis-ai-prediction.md>)
- [China, Russia and the US Are in An Artificial Intelligence Arms Race](<https://futurism.com/china-russia-and-the-us-are-in-an-artificial-intelligence-arms-race.md>)
- [Google’s DeepMind Says It Has All the Tech It Needs for General AI](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-deepmind-tech-general-ai.md>)
- [University of Florida Holds First Drone Race Using Mind Control](<https://futurism.com/university-florida-holds-first-drone-race-using-mind-control.md>)