Carnegie Mellon University’s team has taken the $2-million top prize in this year’s Pentagon-sponsored race for robotic vehicles, the Associated Press reported.
“It’s official (finally) — we won!” the team, Tartan Racing, announced on its Web site.
If that announcement sounds like crowing, it also reflects a bit of suspense, as a vehicle created by a group at Stanford University was actually the first to complete the course. But Carnegie Mellon’s entry, nicknamed “Boss,” had started its journey more than 20 minutes after Stanford’s “Junior,” yet was only a couple minutes behind at the finish.
“Odin,” designed by Team Victor Tango, which includes students from Virginia Tech, came in third.
Those vehicles and nine other finalists navigated themselves through a course at a former Air Force base in California in the contest, called Urban Challenge. Stanford’s team placed first in the first such contest, held in the Mojave Desert two years ago. —Charles Huckabee
