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May 02, 2006, 03:53 PM ET
An Even Grander Challenge
At the conclusion of last year’s Grand Challenge—a robot race through the Mojave Desert sponsored by the Defense Department—the officials in charge of the competition suggested they wouldn’t be continuing the franchise. "I don’t think we’ll have another one of these races," said Anthony J. Tether, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. "I wouldn’t know how to top this one."
Evidently Mr. Tether has changed his mind.
Yesterday he announced plans to hold a third Grand Challenge in November of 2007. And he proudly announced that Darpa, as the defense agency is known, would up the ante for the race.
During the two previous Grand Challenges, driverless vehicles—computer-laden trucks and Hummers, many designed by teams of college students—were asked to navigate a desert course dotted with tunnels, hairpin turns, and mountainous terrain. Several robots breezed through last year’s course—including the winner, Stanley (above; image courtesy of Darpa), a Volkswagen Touareg SUV outfitted by researchers at Stanford University.
Darpa officials have decided to step out of the desert and into the city: Competitors next year will have to maneuver through "a mock urban area" while obeying traffic laws and negotiating tricky intersections. The new backdrop will put the Pentagon closer to its goal of producing automated military vehicles, according to Mr. Tether.
Like last year’s race, the 2007 challenge will offer a purse of $2-million.
For more on the Darpa Grand Challenge, see an article from The Chronicle by Brock Read.
Categories: Research
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