Liberty's Blog

Robot Challange

The NFL season is well underway, and the Major League Baseball playoffs are in full swing, but there is a competition underway that is just as exciting. DARPA the military agency that gave us the internet is sponsering a $2 Million prize to the first team to complete the course in in less than 10 hours. EETimes has this story,

Tires spun, bales of hay caught fire, and robots crashed, but 23 unmanned ground vehicles have qualified for the Defense Advanced Research Agency's Grand Challenge this weekend.

The robots, built by teams from New York to California, will race across 150-miles on an undisclosed route, traversing dry lakebeds, speeding over steep mountain terrain, and ambling around obstacles on the desert route. The route is being kept secret until two hours before the race, expected to begin at 6:30 a.m., PDT, Saturday, near Primm, Nev.

The professors, students, engineers and other experts who designed the robots aren't just competing for the pride that victory bestows.

DARPA, the agency that launched the federal government's effort to build the Internet, is offering a $2 million prize to the group whose robot is the first to complete the route in less than 10 hours.

These aren't remote control cars. These vehicles are autonomous, and rely on sophisticated sensors, computers and software. Most of the teams have have web sites so that we can follow their progress. I copped the photo of the current leader and one might notice its a little banged up. This is rough terrain they are running through.

posted by Liberty @ 7:23 PM