In mid-July, the first World Collegiate Artificial Intelligence Racing Competition officially kicked off.
The entire Prime team arrived at the racetrack early.
As soon as they entered the venue, the smiling and excited faces of young people kept flashing across the face. That was their opponent—college students from various countries, wearing the T-shirts of their respective teams, could tell which country and which school they were from at a glance.
Prime's T-shirt is red, with several blue and white flames flying across it. When I first made T-shirts, they were not made in one size fits all, but were designed by designers, and the sizes were registered one by one.
Du Ruo also secretly complained about Jing Ming, saying that he would care about such things.
Li Wei asked back: "Look at him, from the strands of his hair to his toes, he doesn't care about anything?"
Now when I arrived at the scene, I realized that they were all T-shirts, and their team walked among a pile of ordinary cultural shirts, which was extraordinarily imposing.
Du Ruo passed by the corridor of the stadium and looked out.
Despite the hot weather, there were a lot of spectators.
College students, industry elites, car enthusiasts, and technology enthusiasts from all over the world crowded the bleachers beside the track.
The media area is full of guns and short guns, and journalists from all over the world are ready to fight.
In the arena, the staff of the organizing committee and the authorized broadcaster are debugging the aerial photography drone.
The track twists and turns and runs out of space. The viewing area that the stands can cover is 1.5 kilometers, and the remaining 3.5 kilometers extend to the distance, which needs to be watched on the big screen on site.
Everyone went down from the venue to the parking lot, and 24 driverless racing cars were neatly parked in their respective positions.
Du Ruo sneaked a glance at the cars of other teams.
For functional considerations, many cars are finished like a bare robot, or simply covered with a black lacquered shell.
Of course, there are also some cars that have been carefully decorated, painted and painted with team logos. For example, the yellow car of the AD team in the United States is glorious.
But if you want to choose the most beautiful and eye-catching car, it must be their Prime No.1.
When they were doing the final check on the front of the car, many people from other teams cast curious eyes. Several blond and blue-eyed guys from Germany came to take a photo with Prime No.1 and kept praising amazing!
Seeing this scene, Du Ruo murmured softly, "It's still your thoughtfulness."
Jing Ming snorted and said, "The race doesn't start at the moment the starting gun is fired. It starts then, and it's too late."
As the race draws near, those who watched and took photos all went back to their respective parking spaces.
Prime is in Group F in the bottom half, and the sixth group will play, so there is a period of rest.
There are rest seats and small screens on each group of parking spaces, and those who come out later can watch the game scene through TV.
The host is delivering an opening speech, piling up all kinds of impassioned words.
The camera sweeps across the auditorium outside the railing. It is a hot summer day, and there are huge crowds of people.
He Wang laughed: "Fuck, there are so many audiences!"
The players all laughed, both nervous and excited.
Du Ruo: "I never thought there would be so many people watching."
Wan Ziang: "Of course so many people will come. This is the future of human technology."
Just as we were talking, three cars from Group A appeared on the stage.
On the outdoor racing track, there was a burst of cheers from the audience.
It was quiet in the parking lot.
Each team gathers in their respective dugouts, staring at screens and observing the strength of their opponents.
The three teams in Group A are the AD team from the United States, the GW team from the UK, and the Supreme Team from China.
The styles of the three cars are very different. The American AD’s car has yellow paint, which is as cool as Prime No.1; the British one is ordinary, with a black body; the Chinese one is simple and frugal, even a bit ugly.
The three cars drove slowly to the starting line and stopped.
Jing Ming stroked his chin, and unconsciously said, "We're going to lose."
Du Ruo: "Why?"
Jing Ming: "The body proportions are wrong, and the resistance is high. Look at his design, an engine? The power is insufficient, and the speed will definitely not increase."
On the TV, outside the parking lot, the host’s high-pitched voice came at the same time: "The exciting moment has arrived! Now, our first group match is about to begin!... Please evacuate the staff from the track!... Let us hand over the scene to referee!"
Inside and out, there was no sound.
Suddenly, a shot rang out.
The three unmanned racing cars accelerated and rushed away from the starting line in an instant, and the yellow car of the AD team even left the two cars behind in an instant and went away.
The contestants who watched the race in the parking lot were all shocked: too fast!
The faces of many college students changed.
AD is really fast! The first 1.5 kilometers of runway was extremely winding back and forth, and three cars could still be seen in the overhead shot. But the next 3.5 kilometers is a long driveway. After the yellow car rushed out 1.5 kilometers, the camera could no longer capture three cars at the same time. Until the yellow car ran 5 kilometers, it passed the opponent on the return journey.
Jing Ming stared at the data sheet on the top of the screen, the speed of the car soared from 167km/h to 286km/h.
Du Ruo couldn't help his legs trembling, and suggested to himself: "Our Prime No.1 can also reach this speed."
Li Wei worried: "But the higher the speed, the greater the difficulty and danger."
Jing Ming: "It is also the same."
Sure enough, the yellow car crossed the finish line first, at 2 minutes and 42 seconds. The average speed is about 250 km/h.
Jing Ming: "This is our opponent in the final."
Du Ruo suspected at first whether he judged too early, but soon found that none of the other 9 cars in the upper half had a time better than 2 minutes and 42 seconds.
AD showed its dominance in the group stage.
Surprisingly, car crashes occurred in the next three groups of matches in the upper half.
During group B competition, two cars collided at high speed and were scrapped at the same time;
A car in Group C crashed out of the boundary by itself and suffered heavy damage;
A car in Group D spontaneously ignited.
The situation is grim, and the battle in the group stage has quickly spread to the second half.
Zhu Tao walked towards Prime No.1, surprised: "Why are you at this level? You came here to participate without passing the basic skills."
Jing Ming: "The yellow car in AD is too fast, which gives people too much psychological pressure. Some cars should have activated the backup program temporarily."
"Then we..."
"No need to do anything." Jing Ming knelt down, touched the body of Prime No.1, and said, "I trust her completely."
The three teams in Group E have already played, and they are also ready to go in Group F.
Du Ruo suddenly called out to everyone: "Wait! Wait!"
Jing Ming and the others stopped: "Why?"
"Come on, come on!" She stretched out her right hand vigorously.
"You really never get tired of playing." Jing Ming complained.
"Hurry up!" she stomped.
He sighed and put his right hand on the back of hers. Everyone covered their right hands one after another, held eleven hands together, and pressed down hard:
"PRIME GO!"
Soon, the Group E game ended.
The teenagers appeared together with Prime No.1.
They walked across the dividing line between light and dark, leaving the shady parking lot behind.
On the field, the scorching sun was scorching the earth.
After the members of each team inspected the vehicle for the last time, the racing car was in place.
The team members retreated to the command area aside.
By this point, the players were silent among themselves. Everyone stared at their racing cars with beating hearts.
Du Ruo's heart reached her throat, where it was throbbing violently.
The scorching sun illuminated the sky and the earth into a blank white, and the world was quiet.
Suddenly, the starting gun rang.
Prime No.1 accelerated out of the runway in an instant, accelerated to 100 km/h in 3 seconds, and then soared to 166 km/h. The two opponents are left behind.
When it is feasible to make a turn, there is an accident.
Among the other two cars behind, one wanted to overtake, but suddenly collided with the other car. At high speed, the car lost control, spun out of the track and rushed towards Prime No.1.
Bang!
The rear of Prime No.1's car was cut with a huge cut, the body was bumped violently, and it slowed down abruptly.
He Wang: "Fuck the fuck!"
Du Ruo was so angry that his fists were about to be crushed.
Jing Ming also bit his jaw hard.
Being touched by such a scumbag opponent, no one will be angry.
The perpetrator rushed all the way off the track, hit the wall under the stands, caught fire and smashed instantly.
After Prime No.1 decelerated and passed the difficulty, he accelerated again.
But after running 1.5 kilometers into a smooth track, her top speed was only 256km/h.
In 1 minute and 45 seconds, Prime No.1 ran the first 5 kilometers, turned around and returned. After 1 minute and 15 seconds, the car crossed the finish line.
It takes 3 minutes!
Du Ruo's heart skipped a beat, 18 seconds longer than the AD team.
The rest of the team was also very quiet, not at all like they won the first place in the group stage.
After all, everyone is focusing on the final.
Jing Ming stabilized his morale and said, "Get ready for the next match." He added, "She knows it very well, so don't worry."
Du Ruo smiled: "We know she has a sense of proportion, but the scene was too tense."
He Wang scolded: "I hope I won't meet those scumbag opponents again, it's so fucking cheating."
Li Wei comforted: "Don't worry, they will all be eliminated in the group stage."
After the players simply dealt with Prime No.1, not long after, the knockout round began.
Prime No.1 continued to pass the test and successfully eliminated two opponents to enter the semi-finals. The speed of the car also slowly increased, 2 minutes and 50 seconds, 2 minutes and 40 seconds.
The opponent in the semi-finals is Pengcheng. Their best time along the way is 2 minutes and 38 seconds, which is even better than Prime No.1.
But the game was still without any surprises. Prime No.1 was always ahead of them, and finally crossed the finish line with a time of 2 minutes and 35 seconds.
Her performance was getting better and better every time, gradually attracting the attention of the people present.
Only then did the opponents realize that Prime's car rarely accelerated violently, as if she cared more about safety, driving steadily and accurately. Besides, she came with her opponent, if the opponent was not strong, she just ran away, but if the opponent was strong, she came with all her strength.
Looking at it this way, the car seemed to have a little sense of autonomy, and could react in the most comfortable way for her according to the situation on the scene.
Before preparing for the final, Jing Ming said to everyone: "Don't worry now. She will definitely win."
Everyone looked at each other and laughed.
That being said, but at the moment of the finals, tension is still inevitable.
The game has been going on all day.
After the teams on both sides of the final rested, it was already past 4 pm.
high temperature,
Everyone's clothes were soaked with sweat, and the boy's face was flushed from the sun after being outdoors all day.
The audience in the stands were also exhausted, but their spirits were excited to a high point. The Long March has finally come to the last step, only waiting for the world champion to be born.
The final opponent is the American AD team, with a best time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Both sides are very friendly, going to the final, there is heartfelt admiration for the opponent.
Before the game, players from both sides shook hands one by one.
Soon, they will return to their places.
Everyone retreated to the command area, leaving everything to the racing car.
At this moment, he has done his best and knows the destiny.
The entire arena, from the venue to the track, from the auditorium to the media area, was as deathly silent as there was not even a breeze.
Only the hot and quiet summer sun shines on two equally cool racing cars, one yellow and one red.
The host shouted: "I announce! The first world college student unmanned racing car competition! The final! Start!"
The starting gun rang.
The two racing cars, one yellow and one red, accelerated at the same time and rushed out of the track. The technical data on the big screen shows that both sides accelerate to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds. After that, the two cars bit each other tightly, and you overtook each other, all the way to 200 km/h.
Regardless of the curves or straights, the two cars would not give way to the other, and they bit like shadows, stirring up the gravel on the track.
The audience, reporters, staff, and players in the parking lot were all caught by the most intense game today.
The two cars ran through the last corner of 1.5 kilometers evenly, and galloped onto the 3.5 kilometers stretching track. This road is convenient for overtaking, and everyone hopes to take the lead by surpassing the other.
After several attempts, AD finally spotted the card position and successfully surpassed Prime No.1 by one position. The speed soared to 286km/h, and it was about to widen the distance from Prime No.1.
But no one expected that in the next second, Prime No.1 would hit 300 km/h!
When this value popped up on the big screen, there was a gasp in the auditorium.
In the parking lot, other team members watching TV were shocked:
"OH MY GOD!"
"THAT'S CRAZY!"
"Fuck, aren't you afraid of overturning?!"
And the AD team is also not afraid of death to speed up to 300 km/h!
It was as if no one was out of control.
Du Ruo stared at the big screen, and the tree-lined runway was speeding all the way in red and yellow. She was so nervous that her heart was about to jump out.
The audience in the stands were also dumbfounded, staring at the screen and not daring to breathe.
In 1 minute and 10 seconds, Prime No.1 and AD ran 5 kilometers and rushed to the 180-degree U-turn at the end of the track—a road with a high incidence of accidents. Everyone stopped breathing.
The red car just slowed down slightly, drifted when turning, and the gravel on the track surface was ground into a cloud of dust. The high-altitude camera clearly recorded the sharp screeching sound of the tires rubbing the ground.
The speed was too fast, the body slid violently away from the center of the runway, but at the moment when it was about to touch the runway line, the horsepower was fully increased, the wheels were spinning, the direction was kept steady, and the return journey began to accelerate again!
In a second, Prime No.1 turned around successfully and domineeringly.
Du Ruo took a deep breath,
Li Wei and others clenched their fists and shouted, "YES!"
The AD yellow car next to her also did not slow down significantly, but at the moment of drifting, due to the lack of control of the body, it almost spun off the track, but he also controlled it within a second and rushed to catch up.
But Prime No.1 took the opportunity to get stuck on the track, and the yellow car tried several times, but could not overtake.
All the way back to the last 1.5 kilometers, the red car went faster and more steadily, coping with all kinds of corner obstacles, and it was unstoppable.
The two cars, one in front and the other behind, rushed to the finish line biting each other!
In the control area, the teenagers of Prime had already stood in a row holding hands tightly, their eyes were straightened, and they emitted a light that was almost crazy.
Everyone whispered to themselves, praying!
The last 100 meters!
AD did not give up, trying to overtake, the speed of the car reached 310km/h.
I didn't expect Prime No.1 to accelerate directly to 320km/h!
The audience is crazy! In an instant, he crossed the line successfully!
2 minutes and 05 seconds!
The average speed is 300km/h!
A row of teenagers in red T-shirts went crazy, screamed like crazy, waved their fists and yelled, rushed onto the track and rushed to their racing cars.
The audience screamed and cheered.
In front of the screen in the parking lot, there was also exclamation in various languages.
Soon, Prime No.1 turned around and drove back from not far away.
The boys and girls ran over calling, and Du Ruo, Li Wei, and Wan Ziang He Wang jumped onto the car, hugging her and laughing. I don't care if the engine is hot.
Jing Ming also hugged the car, and kissed hard on the hood, his face was covered with dust, and he wiped it with sweat indiscriminately.
After the teenagers hugged the car and the team members, the boys fighting side by side exchanged powerful and grateful hugs one by one. Du Ruo also received ten hugs from his teammates.
Everyone hugged and shouted and jumped. After returning to the starting point, they shook hands with the members of the AD team who came to express their thanks, and hugged and cherished each other.
The excited voice of the host sounded from above the parking lot:
"The champion of the first World Collegiate Driverless Racing Contest is the Prime Robot Research Team from Beijing, China. They are the world champions! The audience, let us congratulate them with warm applause!"
The crowd cheered.
Soon, the starting line also became lively. The contestants all ran out of the parking lot to take photos with the Prime team and their cars.
Young people from all over the world gathered together, took pictures, fired salutes, and made a fuss.
Several foreign university student competition teams communicated enthusiastically with Jingming Liwei and others, exchanged contact information, encouraged each other to continue to innovate and boldly go on this road, and made an appointment to meet again in the next competition.
In the end, the organizing committee summoned the entire Prime team to take a championship photo. The young people laughed and huddled together in front of the bright red Prime No.1, lining up on both sides of the car. Du Ruo was squeezed beside Jing Ming. The teenagers all put their arms around their shoulders and bent over to look at the camera.
Jing Ming also put his hand on Du Ruo's shoulder, put his arms around her, looked at the camera, and smiled.
Click!
Time freezes.
On that day, the world was sunny.