Looking at this, it's cool, but there's a few suggestions I'd like to make.
1) If you're using Linux, you (almost) HAVE to go with a distribution like debian (
www.debian.org), gentoo (
www.gentoo.org), slackware/LFS (don't know the websites). Just thinking for a minute, Slackware and LFS seem a bit too much for it, leaving Gentoo and Debian as the best choices (IMHO). The biggest difference between Gentoo and Debian is that Gentoo compiles everything for you, instead of downloading binaries, you download source, which can sometimes increase the power of the computer (more optimized instructions). I've used both Debian and Gentoo, have to say I like Gentoo a bit more (running it now, in fact).
2) You need a whole RAID array of Compact Flash cards, coupled with some sort of tmpfs RAM Drive. Then, I would also suggest trying to mount some IDE/SCSI/SATA hard drives, so they don't bounce, and store ALL of the data collected, meaning you need a lot of space. This would be, so when we win, we can show everyone else how our data was processed
(We gotta think ahead, no?
).
3) We'll be doing a lot of image processing, as we have no way to see what's ahead without that. Image processing at 30 - 40 MPH. That means you need to take like, I'd think, 10 - 20 images a second, and process them all just as fast. Reason being, at 30 - 40 MPH, a rock 40 feet away will make a big hole if you don't steer around it. One interesting idea, if you can't get a fast enough computer, maybe a Bewoulf (is that how you spell it?) Cluster. Even made out of 3 or 4 machines, it'd give you that much extra power.
4) Based on suggestion #3, Neural Network are your friend. I mean, we're driving a car, why not mimick what we use to drive a car? They're efficient, fast, and while hard to program, will definitely be a big help once created.
5) Just make sure that everyone knows what everyone else is doing. If someone is making a program, make sure they know how it will interface with the rest of the car. If someone is creating a computer system, make sure everyone else knows what they're making it out of (Don't program stuff for x86, when you're building a PPC).
This is a very cool project, and if FIRST puts forth a team, and even comes close to winning, that'd be truely amazing. Imagine the publicity....