DARPA's Robo Car Wars Goes Downtown
Yay the DARPA grand challenge is on again.
This year the course is a simulated city environment.
The competition, slated to take place in an undisclosed location in November 2007, is supported by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to spur development of military vehicles that could fight in war zones without any sort of remote control.
The robotic vehicles will have to navigate a complex 60-mile test course designed like a real city street filled with moving manned and unmanned vehicles. Participants will be tested on how well they make sharp turns, navigate traffic circles and avoid obstacles such as utility poles, trees and parked cars. The vehicles will also have to obey traffic laws, change lanes, merge with moving cars and pull into a parking lot using only their computer brain and sensors.
The first vehicle that successfully completes the mission in less than six hours will win $2 million. Second-place finishers will get $500,000 while third place will receive $250,000.