NASCAR for Nerds

At times the Grand Challenge, a robot race through the Mojave Desert sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, resembled a Nascar event for nerds. A Nascar race, that is, without the low-slung sports cars: Most of the robots were simply SUV’s or trucks outfitted with sensors, computers, global-positioning systems, and other technologies. Many of the 23 teams that participated were led by college students and professors, often working in tandem with companies that had donated hardware and the time of their own researchers. College insignias and corporate logos, in fact, seemed to fight for space on a number of the computer-operated cars, trucks, Hummers, and dune buggies that showed up at the race. (The Chronicle, subscription required)