Intel x Ferrari

AI Drone Racing

Intel-powered technology is the force behind many of today’s most exciting and future-facing projects. We were recently approached by Intel to tell a story about how drones and AI are about to revolutionize the car racing industry.

The Intel team had recently partnered with the Ferrari Challenge to create a proof of concept platform to capture every single moment of a car race. Cameras will be able to predict and take position for the best shooting angle before the action happens; viewers at home will be able to follow a customised broadcast focused on their favourite racer; the engineering teams will receive a new level of data analytics for the performance of each vehicle.

We had the opportunity to showcase the initial research in the field at one of the most prominent conferences — the Intel AI Devcon in San Francisco. It was essential to create a compelling film that would inspire the elite AI scientists and developers about the possibilities of the AI platform while maintaining a critical level of technical accuracy.

Our proposal to Intel was to create a film that would showcase the fascinating perspective of the world as seen by an AI-powered drone.

We kick-started our creative process by researching the current state of the art in computer vision and machine learning video analysis: from self-driving cars footage to industrial object detection algorithms. Partnering with our friends at Worship, we designed a visual language for a plausible computer vision system. Given the caliber of our audience, we had to quickly research and brush up on the latest on deep learning and computer vision to ensure that our designs were reflective of today’s technology as opposed to a distant futuristic feel. We then tracked and analysed real live action footage that was captured during one of the Ferrari Challenge events. See the full spot here.

Visual Development

One of the highlights of the film is the architectural metaphor we created to showcase the complex algorithms that happen at blazing speed within the Intel Nervana AI platform: we wanted to take the viewer inside the mind of the AI… and we did it quite literally.

We created a physical space that acted as an AI control room, in which space and time are suspended and where huge amount of data orderly flow in and get analysed.

Using speed as the transformative element between Ferrari (mechanical speed) and Intel (technological speed) we created an incredible opening sequence in which abstract data particles accelerate with the roaring sound of an engine to reveal the gorgeous design of a Ferrari 488 GT.