The launch of the third summit of the Abu Dhabi League for Independent and Professional Racing "UMEX 2026"

Abu Dhabi, January 20 / WAM / The third summit of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL 3.0) was launched today at the ADNEC Abu Dhabi Centre, which brings together innovators from around the world to discuss the future of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and smart mobility, and to showcase innovations in autonomous driving races and real-life applications that shape the cities of the future, within the activities of the “UMEX 2026” exhibition.

The initiative, organized by Aspire, aims to bring together experts and stakeholders from academia, autonomous driving entities, government agencies, policy makers and regulators, in a new round of discussions and networking to explore the intersection between autonomous mobility, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, gaming and extreme sports.

Stefan Timpano, CEO of Aspire, said during the opening speech that the summit comes at a time when autonomy and artificial intelligence technologies have exceeded the limits of experiments and pilot projects, noting that the question no longer revolves around the ability of these systems to work, but rather about how to gain trust, ensure safety on a large scale, and achieve optimal performance in real-world environments.

He explained that the summit represents a real testing environment for autonomous systems, as races compress years of development into a few seconds, enabling artificial intelligence to make quick decisions in situations of uncertainty and interact with other intelligent agents, revealing borderline cases that cannot be monitored in laboratories or simulators, stressing that transparency is an essential element in building trust.

Timpano pointed to the E2RL Drone Championship, which will be held tomorrow, where aircraft will compete at speeds of up to 140 kilometers per hour, relying on computer vision techniques and real-time decision-making, in a direct challenge that brings together the best smart aircraft and the most skilled FPV pilots in the world.

He pointed out that racing provides advanced data and analysis that contribute to accelerating technological progress, while maintaining the highest standards of safety, accountability and trust, pointing out that extreme testing environments play a pivotal role in developing the fields of commercial mobility, logistics, technical training and practical application, with a focus on adoption, regulation and good governance.

He stressed that the strength of the UAE lies in its ability to integrate innovation with the governance system, bringing together regulators, developers and operators at one table, to enhance dialogue in a realistic testing environment, pointing to the human dimension of autonomous systems that reflect human creativity and the spirit of cross-border cooperation.

Salim Al Balushi, Chief Technology Officer of Du, told the Emirates News Agency, WAM, that the company reviewed during the summit its vision aimed at building a stimulating platform for innovation in the field of self-driving car racing, explaining that Du’s role in this experiment was pivotal by providing its own technical chip.

He explained that the “Du” chip was installed inside the car and is used to control it through a central control platform, noting that this chip represents a very important element, as any defect in the communication process between the car and the platform may lead to the car stopping working.

He added that this achievement was achieved with the support of specialized work teams and the adoption of advanced technologies, with a focus on the highest standards of cybersecurity and the integrity of the systems that control the communication process between the car and the network.

For his part, Dr. Giovanni Bao, Technical Director at the Autonomous Robotics Research Center at the Technological Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi, “LOAM,” said that he is participating in the “Autonomous Racing: A Test Platform for Realistic Systems” session, which is being held as part of the summit’s work, indicating that his work focuses on leading drone racing teams and car racing teams, stressing the great importance of challenges and races in driving technological development.

He added that facing challenges forces teams to accomplish a lot of work and achieve rapid progress in a limited time, which contributes to directing research more effectively and makes the development process faster and more efficient, noting that these factors contributed to placing Abu Dhabi at the forefront of the global scene in this field.

The A2RL Summit includes discussion sessions and keynotes that highlight the latest developments in autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, with a focus on autonomous racing as a testing platform for realistic systems, and the use of simulation techniques in developing robots and autonomous vehicles, in addition to discussing adoption and regulation policies. The summit also reviews the transition of artificial intelligence applications from racetracks to practical uses in the real world.

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