DARPA Urban Challenge

**Skeptical** · Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:12 am Post subject: DARPA Urban Challenge

I've always been a bit of a propeller-head so I am very excited about this weekend's DARPA Urban Challenge. This is the latest contest from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The goal is to create a practical, totally autonomous vehicle - for military purposes at first but, if history is any guide, the technology will filter out into the marketplace.

In years past, the competing teams designed their vehicles to negotiate rough desert terrain. This year, the vehicles have to run in an urban setting - meaning they must be able to handle traffic lights and signs as well as other vehicles. Here is the link to the Urban Challenge website:

http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/index.asp

My understanding is that a live webcast of the event will start Saturday morning at 9:30AM EDT. Not exactly Battlebots but it will still be interesting to see. If these guys can make this technology work, look for a car that will drive itself and you home from the New Year's Eve party by 2020.

S
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"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." -- Thomas Jefferson

**dr wu23** · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 2254 Location: Indiana

Urban assault vehicles...? Just the thing for when the NWO finally take over the world.

Rolling Eyes

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"Some say the valley has always been haunted ever since River ran.
The rippling waters fast as the colors conceal the Green Man."
Roy Harpur from The Green Man

**Skeptical** · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:07 am Post subject:

The team from Carnegie Mellon won the Urban Challenge event, followed by teams from Stanford University and Virginia Tech. The first place prize was 2 million bucks! The webcast Saturday was hosted by two of the guys from the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters program. I'm hoping a condensed version of it will show up on Discovery Channel in the near future. Yes, I'm a techno-geek but I find this stuff fascinating. Personally, if we could take human error out of driving, it would probably save tens of thousands of lives in the United States annually.

S

Here's a clip of the winning vehicle. You may want to turn your sound down - they equipped it with a police siren.

_________________
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." -- Thomas Jefferson