Two drones and no human pilot. In this live demonstration, autonomous drones speed through a course marked by rectangular gates. Their only view of the world comes from an onboard camera: no GPS, no external motion-tracking system and no remote pilot telling them where to go.

Just as a human racer watches the track and reacts, each drone must interpret the images it sees, decide where to fly and control its movements in real time.

Behind this fast-paced demonstration lie years of research in robotics, computer vision and artificial intelligence. How can a machine turn pixels into safe, agile action? How does it learn to cope with speed, uncertainty and an opponent sharing the course?

Watch the race unfold and discover how researchers at the University of Zurich’s Robotics and Perception Group create knowledge by combining mathematical models, simulated training and experiments on real flying robots. Will the two drone cross the finish line?