Who is the Boss
Chris Urmson of Tartan Racing takes us for a tour of the robotic vehicle that took home top honors in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge competition. Carnegie Mellon University, General Motors Corporation, Caterpillar, Continental and others have allied as Tartan Racing to tackle the Urban Challenge.
Video Courtesy of General Motors Corporation, 2007
The DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Urban Challenge is an autonomous vehicle research and development program with the goal of developing technology that will keep warfighters off the battlefield and out of harm’s way. The Urban Challenge features autonomous ground vehicles maneuvering in a mock city environment, executing simulated military supply missions while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles.
The program is conducted as a series of qualification steps leading to a competitive final event, This year's competition was held November 3, 2007, in Victorville, California. DARPA is offering $2M for the fastest qualifying vehicle, and $1M and $500,000 for second and third place.
This program is an outgrowth of two previous DARPA Grand Challenge autonomous vehicle competitions. The first Grand Challenge event was held in March 2004 and featured a 142-mile desert course. Fifteen autonomous ground vehicles attempted the course and no vehicle finished. In the 2005 Grand Challenge, four autonomous vehicles successfully completed a 132-mile desert route under the required 10-hour limit, and DARPA awarded a $2 million prize to “Stanley” from Stanford University.
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