HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii will compete in its second autonomous race car competition in three months at Friday’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The UH AI Racing Tech team is one of nine groups entered in The Autonomous Challenge, comprising 19 universities. In the head-to-head, single-elimination format, the self-driving vehicles resembling Formula 1 models must show prowess in navigating the course quickly and passing their opponent’s moving vehicle. The latter will be a first in a live race.

What You Need To Know

  • The University of Hawaii has entered a team in The Autonomous Challenge for self-driving race cars at the Consumer Electronics Show on Friday in Las Vegas

  • The winner of the head-to-head, single-elimination event takes home more than $200,000

  • UH placed sixth of nine teams in its first autonomous racing vehicle competition in October

  • The event will be live streamed starting at 10 a.m. Hawaii time

A prize of more than $200,000 goes to the winner.

UH previously competed at the Indy Autonomous Challenge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Oct. 23, the first international driverless car event. It placed sixth of nine teams in what was essentially a time trial for the artificial intelligence-governed cars with no other vehicles on the track.

Gary Passon, the UH AI Racing Tech team principal, considered that result a “significant result” as well as a stepping stone for the program heading into Friday’s competition.

“This is the first event and the first autonomous event that I think any of us are aware of where they’ll be head to head passing, so two cars will go out at the same time and in order, they will attempt to pass each other,” he said in a UH release.

The competition will be live streamed on the CES website starting at 10 a.m. Hawaii time, as well as on Twitch.

UH's team also includes members from UC San Diego.