World's Ugliest Robot Race V.2

[Conor Ryan]

Hey it looks like those driverless robots are back! In case you haven't heard yet in two weeks or so (October 8, 2005) the DARPA Grand Challenge will kick off again!

This year the stakes are higher, robots are smarter, and the trucks are uglier (supposedly) The prize was raised this year to $US 2,000,000, and they are giving them a tougher course. A field of 43 robots are set to compete against each other to be the fastest robot to complete the 175 mile course in under 10 hours.

Heres a quick overview of the rules from Wikipedia:
* The vehicle must travel autonomously on the ground in under ten hours.
* The vehicle must stay within the course boundaries as defined by a data file provided by DARPA.
* The vehicle may use GPS and other public signals.
* No control commands may be sent to the vehicle while en route.
* The vehicle must not intentionally touch any other competing vehicle.
* An autonomous service station is permitted at a checkpoint area approximately halfway between start and finish.

I think this is pretty cool, can't wait to watch them go at it, some of what happened last year was pretty funny. But it'd be intresting to see someone actually complete the challenge. If for some reason that doesn't happen, that stakes are $4 Million and there will be another round in 18 months or so.

More Info:
DARPA Grand Challenge Home
Grand Challenge By Wiki

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