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Metropolis Reality Forums « Mojave ROBOT race! »

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   Author  Topic: Mojave ROBOT race!  (Read 249 times)
MzWings
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Mojave ROBOT race!
« on: Mar 13th, 2004, 8:44am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
15 teams qualify for Mojave robot race

By Marsha Walton

 
FONTANA, California (CNN) -- Of more than 100 entries, only 15 robotic vehicles, ranging from a motorcycle to a mega-military truck, made the final cut.
 

California Institute of Technology's robotic vehicle was one of 15 entries that passed race qualifying tests.

 
They will be at the starting line in Barstow, California, Saturday for the strange and historic Grand Challenge race, part of the government's search for a better robot.  
 
Beginning at dawn, the robots will tackle a course that is expected to stretch about 200 miles across the Mojave Desert to a finish line in Primm, Nevada, near Las Vegas.
 
"We're either going to finish the race, or we're going to go off a cliff," said Jay Gowdy, project scientist with the Red Team from Carnegie Mellon University, whose heavily modified Humvee is favored to win.  
 
The first robot to cross the finish line -- under the 10-hour time limit -- will collect a $1 million prize. Because the project is unique, no one is really sure if any of the vehicles will be sturdy enough to win.  
 
"We don't know. There are three to four with a very, very good chance," said Anthony Tether, director of DARPA.  
 
"But I'm not sure what the odds are in Vegas," he told reporters at a news conference Friday.  
 
The secretive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring the Grand Challenge to find autonomous military vehicles that protect soldiers from tasks that are dangerous, dirty or dull.
 
"If we can minimize harm using these robots, and save human beings, then that's what we want to do," said Col. Jose Negron, DARPA's program manager for the race.  
 
Of the 21 teams that arrived, 15 teams survived the grueling qualification, inspection, and demonstration event at the California Speedway in Fontana, California this week.  
 
The robots were put through obstacle and speed tests to make sure they would be safe. While only seven teams completed the speedway course, eight others came close enough to convince judges that they could safely compete.  
 
The robots are expected to leave at about five minute intervals, beginning at 6:30 a.m. PT Saturday.  
 
Teams will not get the final course instructions until about two hours before the race. Once they leave the starting line, the robots are on their own: no human intervention is allowed. Each of the robots will be followed by a chase vehicle with three human occupants. The robots can be manually "paused" or "killed" via a laptop computer in case of an emergency.
 
Along with the chase vehicles, several wreckers also will be waiting along the course. About 500 people, including staff and volunteers, will be involved in the race, DARPA officials said.  
 
For months, the Bureau of Land Management has assessed the course to try to protect wildlife that lives there.  
 
Here are the Teams:
 
RACE STARTING ORDER  
 
• Red Team, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  
 
• SciAutonics II, Thousand Oaks, California  
 
• Team Caltech, Pasadena, California  
 
• Digital Auto Drive, Morgan Hill, California  
 
• Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia  
 
• Axion Racing, Westlake Village, California  
 
•Team CajunBot, Lafayette, Louisiana  
 
• Team ENSCO, Falls Church, Virginia  
 
• Team CIMAR, Gainesville, Florida and Logan, Utah  
 
• Palos Verdes High School Road Warriors, Palos Verdes Estates, California  
 
• SciAutonics I, Thousand Oaks, California  
 
• Team TerraMax, Oshkosh, Wisconsin  
 
• Team Terrahawk, Gardena, California  
 
• The Golem Group, Santa Monica, California  
 
• The Blue Team, Berkeley, California  
 
 
On Friday, 20 biologists were putting protective pens around desert tortoise burrows until the race is complete. :clapping:  DARPA's director says the agency has invested about $13 million in the project, including the $1 million prize. But he says there has already been a tremendous return on investment.  
 
"The real thing we are getting is that thousands of people are now working on a vital problem for the Department of Defense," said Tether. "This has shaped the lives of some young people in a positive way. That is priceless."
 
 
 
 
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Bumper
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Re: Mojave ROBOT race!
« Reply #1 on: Mar 13th, 2004, 10:54am »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
Obiviously, here in the Bumper household, we're partial to Virginia Tech.
 
. . . And ALL of my electronic, robotic type appliances here at the Bumper spread are rooting for Virginia Tech too!  Cool
 
. . . the electronic garage door openers on my two-car garage are doing their own version of the "wave" as they continiously cycle up n down, up n down and my TV remotes keep switching "Headline News" looking for updates on the race!   Grin
 
. . . . . sure will be glad when this thing is over.  Wink
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MzWings
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Re: Mojave ROBOT race!
« Reply #2 on: Mar 13th, 2004, 5:57pm »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
on Mar 13th, 2004, 10:54am, Bumper wrote:
. . . . . sure will be glad when this thing is over.  Wink

 
:cry2:  I'm afraid it is Bumps and the news isn't so good.
 
Robot race ends without a winner
$1 million prize goes unclaimedSaturday, March 13, 2004 Posted: 5:30 PM EST (2230 GMT)

 

SciAutonics II's vehicle covered seven miles before ending its run Saturday.
 
  
BARSTOW, California (AP) -- A $1 million race across the Mojave Desert by driverless robots ended Saturday after all 15 entries either broke down or withdrew, a race official said.
 
Two of the entries covered about seven miles of the roughly 150-mile course while eight failed to make it to the one-mile mark. Others crashed seconds after starting.
 
The race ended just before 11 a.m. after the final four competitors were disabled, said Col. Jose Negron, race program manager.
 
Competitors suffered a variety of problems that included stuck brakes, broken axles, rollovers and malfunctioning satellite navigation equipment.
 
One six-wheeled robot built by a Louisiana team was disqualified after it became entangled in barbed wire.
 
"It's a tough challenge -- it's a grand challenge -- you can always bet that it's not doable. But if you don't push the limits, you can't learn," said Ensco Inc. engineer Venkatesh Vasudevan, shortly after his company's entry rolled onto its side several hundred yards from the starting gate.
 
The Pentagon's research and development agency planned to award $1 million to the first team whose microcircuit-and-sensor-studded vehicle could cover the roughly 150-mile course in less than 10 hours.
 
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was 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.
 
 
 
« Last Edit: Mar 13th, 2004, 5:59pm by MzWings » IP Logged
"Senility Prayer"...God grant me...
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The good fortune to run into the ones that I do
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