Formula 110

Carolina students are putting their code in the driver’s seat! Join UNC’s Department of Computer Science for Formula 110, an autonomous racing showcase where student-written software takes the wheel. Students in COMP110, Introduction to Programming, have built controllers that steer simulated race cars around a track, turning their first lessons in programming into decisions about when to accelerate, brake, and turn. Now, it’s race time.

Provost Magnus Egerstedt will give a lesson on autonomous driving and robotics, drawing on his own experience to connect the action on screen with the engineering behind real autonomous systems. We’ll also see and hear from senior computer science students in Honors AI Engineering, who have used advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to develop and train their driving controllers.

The event will feature three tournament categories: first-time programmers, non-majors, and CS majors, with the top cars in each category competing for prizes. Come cheer on the racers and discover the ideas behind their driving decisions.

Beneath the competition is a fundamental challenge in robotics and AI: taking sensory input about the world and deciding how a vehicle should respond. Although simplified, this simulation captures real challenges in autonomous driving, from navigating turns to balancing speed and control. It’s a chance to see how students progress from their first lines of code to advanced AI engineering, and to meet the future computer scientists and AI engineers developing those skills right here at UNC-Chapel Hill.