Abu Dhabi, UAE – 19 January 2026: ADNEC Group, a Modon company, has announced ASPIRE, part of the Advanced Technology Research Council, as the Strategic Technology Partner for the upcoming edition on the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX) and Simulation and Training Exhibition (SimTEX) 2026.
This partnership will see The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) deliver a showcase during UMEX and SimTEX 2026 with the A2RL Drone Championship, taking place on 21–22 January as part of the region’s leading exhibition for unmanned and autonomous systems.
UMEX and SimTEX 2026, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs and Chairman of the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council, will take place at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi from 20–22 January 2026.
Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Group CEO of ADNEC Group, said: “Hosting the A2RL Drone Championship at UMEX 2026 reflects ADNEC Group’s strong commitment to enhancing the reputation of its exhibitions as leading international platforms for advanced technology and applied innovation. As the strategic technology partner, ASPIRE will present a high-profile live demonstration of autonomous systems during the exhibition, providing industry stakeholders, decision-makers, and visitors with a unique opportunity to witness the practical potential of artificial intelligence in realistic operational conditions.” The championship is one of the main live events at the exhibition, gathering top AI teams from around the world alongside professional pilots to compete in autonomous flight environments that simulate real-world challenges.
A2RL Drones is a flagship live feature of UMEX. The competition brings together elite global AI teams and world-class first-person-view (FPV) pilots to compete under demanding real-world autonomous flight conditions. Following the benchmarks set in its first season, A2RL Drone Championship introduces faster and more robust drones, a more technically demanding racecourse, and new formats designed to test perception, decision-making, and multi-agent autonomy under sustained pressure.
A2RL’s minimalist autonomy philosophy remains central to the competition. As in Season 1, drones race fully autonomously using only a single forward-facing monocular RGB camera and an IMU, with no LiDAR, no stereo vision, and no external positioning systems. All perception, planning, and control decisions are processed entirely onboard and in real time, closely mirroring the constraints faced by autonomous systems operating in real-world environments.
Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE, said: “The A2RL Drone Championship builds on the progress achieved across the League’s Car and Drone showcases in 2025. In the inaugural Drone Championship, an autonomous system outperformed a world-class human pilot under real race conditions, proving capability under pressure, rather than in controlled settings. Season 2 now raises the bar by demanding greater speed, reliability, and decision-making from fully autonomous AI.”
Across two days of competition, teams will race in three distinct formats, each designed to test a different dimension of autonomous capability. The AI Speed Challenge will see teams attempt to set the fastest combined time across two consecutive laps in a single-drone time trial. The AI vs AI Multi-Drone Race will push three autonomous drones to compete simultaneously, requiring precise positioning, strategic pacing, and real-time collision avoidance across multiple rounds.
The programme also includes a Human vs AI Challenge, where the fastest autonomous teams will race head-to-head against elite FPV pilots, including national champions and world title holders. Racing under identical conditions, the format offers a transparent benchmark between human skill and machine intelligence.
Francesco Blasi, Head of A2RL Drones at ASPIRE, said: “The Drone Championship builds on lessons from its first year, with reinforced competition drones and a tighter, more technical course. The new Ladder obstacle adds vertical complexity, testing depth perception, spatial awareness, and high-speed planning, with early testing showing gains in performance and safety.”
Alongside the racing programme, A2RL Summit 3.0 will take place on 20 January 2026 at UMEX, convening policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders to explore how autonomous racing accelerates real-world deployment.
Notable speakers include H.E. Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary General of ATRC; senior representatives from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority; Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE; and experts from Sony AI, AWS, and the Technology Innovation Institute. Discussions will focus on autonomous racing as a testbed for real-world systems, regulation, simulation, and adoption pathways.
Beyond competition, A2RL operates as a science testbed in the public domain, compressing years of research and development into days of visible, measurable performance. Technologies tested through A2RL’s Car and Drone Championships have direct relevance to logistics, inspection, emergency response, infrastructure monitoring, and future air mobility, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s role as a global hub for applied autonomy.
Join global leaders, innovators, and decision-makers at the seventh edition of UMEX and SimTEX, the only event in the Middle East dedicated to advancing unmanned systems. Registration is now open and can be accessed through the official UMEX and SimTEX website here.
