MonoRace AI drone beats world champion human pilots

Researchers at Delft University of Technology built MonoRace, an onboard AI system that flies a quadcopter using only a single camera and an IMU, without GPS or a preloaded map. On the Abu Dhabi course it completed two laps over 11 gates in 16.56 seconds at up to 102 km/h, beating three former human world champions.

• Two laps over 11 gates in 16.56 seconds, top speed of 102 km/h
• 966-gram drone carries one camera, an IMU and a microcontroller-class chip
• Neural network sends motor commands 500 times per second
• System won the 2025 A2RL autonomous drone racing competition