Your tax dollars at work:
Fifteen Robots Ready for $1 Million Mojave Desert Race
By Andrew Bridges Associated Press Writer
Published: Mar 13, 2004
BARSTOW, Calif. (AP) - A driverless Humvee converted by Carnegie Mellon University students was the favorite in a $1 million race between 15 self-navigating robots across the Mojave Desert.
The Pentagon's research and development agency will award the prize to the first team whose vehicle can cover the course in less than 10 hours, although those involved say it's unclear if any of the competitors would be able to claim the taxpayer-funded prize.
Of the 21 teams that attempted to qualify over four days of trials, just seven completed a flat, 1.36-mile obstacle course at the California Speedway in Fontana, east of Los Angeles.
The Humvee has pole position in the first-of-its-kind race, scheduled to begin Saturday. The Sandstorm will be followed out of the gate by other heavily customized vehicles, including a 16-ton truck, an all-terrain vehicle and a self-balancing motorcycle.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is sponsoring the Grand Challenge to foster development of autonomous vehicles that could be used in combat. Defense officials foresee using the driverless, remote control-free robots to ferry supplies in war zones.
"The main purpose of this is to harvest the new technology you see out there and use that new technology on the battlefield of tomorrow," said Col. Jose Negron, race program manager for DARPA, as the agency is known.
The agency spent $13 million on the race. It estimates competitors laid out four to five times that amount developing their entries, which rely on global positioning satellites as well as a variety of sensors, lasers, radar and cameras to orient themselves and detect and avoid obstacles.
The on- and off-road course begins in Barstow and ends just across the California state line in Primm, Nev.
Competitors won't be given the route their vehicles must follow until two hours before their staggered start times.
To ensure safety, the robots can pause during the race, stopping the 10-hour clock without penalty. That raises the possibility the competition could stretch into Sunday, officials said. A chase vehicle will tail each robot, with a judge ready to hit a kill switch if the robot goes astray.
"There are at least three or four who will have a very good chance of finishing the course; whether they finish it in 10 hours is another question," said DARPA director Tony Tether.
If no one finishes, the agency will host another contest, probably in 2006.
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On the Net: grandchallenge.org |
