Toyota brings Prius Challenge to Sonoma Raceway

On December 16^th , Toyota Research Institute (TRI) declared that it is planning to bring the Prius Challenge to Sonoma Raceway as a novelty event on its Onramp series. The whole event was created to engage the tech society and the startup. This event is planned for March 3^rd, 2017, and hosted by TRI. There will be a team competition in which the participants optimize their driving all based on simulation from a connected Toyota Prius.

This kind of Prius challenge is a unique competition and stemmed from Toyota headquarters in Japan. Participants battle it out who will achieve the best fuel economy on a Prius within the time limit. For the first time the public is able to participate in this challenge.  Toyota Research Institute wants to include a challenge involving data simulation and crunching for the participants in the Onramp concept. 

“TRI is excited to host the Prius Challenge and introduce a competition that will allow participants to use machine learning and sophisticated data analysis tools to test out their theories in the real world,” said Dr. ‎Gill Pratt, CEO at Toyota Research Institute, Inc. “Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are a hotbed for automotive talent and innovation, and this event is the perfect opportunity for TRI to engage with the tech community and have some fun in the process.”

For the third time this Onramp event is sponsored by Toyota. Jason Wiener, the winner for 2015, will return for Onramp 2017 having his connected car startup. Adding to all of this, Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC), which is partnering with TRI, is going to supply a driving simulator. With this simulator participants will be able to practice driving through a virtual program.

“The Toyota Onramp series is a fantastic set of events aimed at driving collaboration between Toyota and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs,” said Wiener. “I hope we will see a great field of competitors out there on the racetrack on March 3 competing to bring home the Prius Cup.”

This Toyota Onramp is an invitation-only event. For further information and details on how to participate and how to apply for this Prius Challenge please visit the website here.

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