DARPA Grand Challenge.com

Barring any further updates, it appears that 70 teams completed the first 5 stages of the application process by the March 11 deadline. Depending on how you count, this is either double or triple the number of teams that reached this stage last year. The next major milestone comes on April 4, when DARPA will announce which of these teams will receive a site visit to see their vehicle in action. The site visit is the final qualification step for the 2005 Grand Challenge event in October.

An incredible 195 teams completed parts 1 and 2 of the application process for the 2005 Grand Challenge before the February 11 deadline. A complete listing of accepted teams can be found on the Grand Challenge team information page. The teams have another nine days until the March 11 deadline for completion of parts 3-5. It's worth noting that four early-birds have already submitted their complete applications: Axion Racing, Mojavaton, and Red Teams One and Too from CMU.