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ZL2VAL > TECHNO 26.02.04 13:18l 130 Lines 5718 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Read: GUEST OE7FMI
Subj: Robot car race next month
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Sent: 040226/1018Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:36617 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : TECHNO@WW
Robot Road Warriors: Unmanned Vehicles to Race for $1 Million in DARPA
Contest
By Tariq Malik
Staff Writer
posted: 06:30 am ET
25 February 2004
Teams of scientists, engineers and students from across the United
States are gearing up for what may be the most unique land race in the
country; a contest run by robots vying to be the first vehicle to reach
Las Vegas and win $1 million for its builders.
The race, known as the Grand Challenge, is the brainchild of
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and aimed at
boosting the development of autonomous vehicles that could find uses in
the American military. Out of an original 86 applicants, 25 were
selected by DARPA officials to run the race, with entries ranging from a
group of Californian high school students to members of the Robotics
Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
DARPA will hold the race in two parts in early March. First, a
qualifying round will be held during the week of March 8 on the
California Speedway track in Fontana, California, where race vehicles
are expected to prove their autonomous driving and obstacle avoidance
capabilities. Those that survive the trials will then move on the big
show, a race from Barstow, California to Las Vegas, Nevada with no one
in the driver's seat but an onboard computer.
The cash prize will be awarded to the first vehicle to successfully
complete the course in 10 hours or less. If no entries meet that
deadline, future competitions will be held annually through 2007, DARPA
officials said.
"This is probably one of the best things I've done in my life," said
Alex Gutierrez, an associate team leader with Red Team, the Carnegie Mellon
entry. "This whole thing has been wonderful."
His team, led by Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute professor William
"Red" Whittaker, converted an 1986 military surplus Humvee into
Sandstorm, a robot vehicle capable of driving itself at speeds in excess
of 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour.
Automated road warriors
Grand Challenge robots are expected to be able to drive on paved and
unpaved trails, as well as avoid both natural and man-made obstacles
like ditches, power line towers and open water.
DARPA race officials have tried to keep the final contest route a secret,
though they have said it won't be longer than 300 miles (482 kilometers).
Despite the best DARPA efforts, some possible routes have surfaced since the
Grand Challenge was announced last year.
"There were several planned courses which were leaked or just made public,"
explained Jim Nista, a volunteer and team spokesman for CyberRider, a dune
buggy-like vehicle developed in an Irvine, California garage by a group of
robot enthusiasts led by engineer Ivar Schoenmeyer. "They're not easy trails,
and have a lot of ups and downs."
The CyberRider team is touting its ground clearance, which is apparently
quite high though the team's leaders are keeping silent on an exact
number until its time for the qualifying round. Nista said the vehicle
uses multiple scanning laser beams and a radar system to detect
obstacles, with a global positioning system (GPS) capable of resolving
its location down to half a foot.
Such GPS systems should come in handy in the Grand Challenge, since the
last contact any team members will have with their vehicles --
physically or remotely -- will be at the starting line when they press
the "Go" button. The vehicles are expected to rely on DARPA waystation
points to reach the finish line. Should a robot rover stray too far off
course it will be DARPA officials who will shut the vehicle down remotely.
"You have to have some kind of mapping software, as well as some dead
reckoning ability," Nista told SPACE.com, adding that even if a vehicle
fails and runs into a wall, there it is still a success. "The worst
thing that can happen for any of these teams is that they end of
inventing something."
Anyone can join
By holding an open competition available for anyone interested, DARPA
officials hoped to encourage innovative approaches to autonomous land
rovers.
"No one's really done this before," Nista said. "But then again, DARPA
has never really opened up like this either."
DARPA did have some requirements for the race. Grand Challenge entrants
were required to submit a technical paper on their vehicle by October
13, and DARPA officials conducted 19 site visits to study some entries
in more detail. But those regulations did not deter some Grand Challenge
hopefuls.
"I'm confident in our team, and believe we have as good a chance as a
lot of the guys out there," said Chris Seide, 17, overall project leader
for the Palos Verdes Road Warriors <http://www.pvrw.com/>. The team is
made up of students, teachers and parents from Palos Verdes High School
in Palos Verdes, California.
Seide told SPACE.com his team's vehicle, a donated Honda Acura MDX
outfitted with a laser-guided obstacle avoidance system, is going
through some final tests before the upcoming trials. Students broke up
into several teams to solve the various vehicle, autonomous and
administrative challenges to compete in the Grand Challenge.
"Whether we move a centimeter [during qualifications] and crash or not,
it's not what motivates me," Siede said. "This is a true robotics
program, which I don't believe any other high school in the nation has."
=========================
73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).
AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
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Message timed: 23:15 on 2004-Feb-26 (NZT)
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Points to ponder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Insanity is contagious, You catch it from your kids.
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