tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81403142007-11-04T22:39:04.241-05:00RobBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-76364074414577053782007-11-04T22:23:00.000-05:002007-11-04T22:39:04.266-05:00

Six teams managed to finish the 55-mile course at the Darpa Urban Challenge finals on Saturday, with CMU's Tartan Racing taking the checkered flag and a $2 million grand prize. Teams fielded by Stanford and Virginia Tech finished second ($1 million) and third ($500,000), respectively. Wired has excellent coverage of the finals and the awards ceremony. Rounding out the finishing group were Ben

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-53328697897900615982007-10-30T14:31:00.000-04:002007-10-30T14:37:34.963-04:00

While I normally tend towards reporting on the more sober details of the Urban Challenge, I have to admit that I couldn't resist watching this video of Axion Racing's Spirit unmanned vehicle crashing into a human-driven chase car. Reports indicate that there wasn't too much damage to the driver, or to either of the vehicles. Nonetheless, events like this underscore the potential for mishaps in

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-57027130878179699342007-10-29T19:07:00.000-04:002007-10-29T19:16:15.982-04:00

One of the interesting things that struck me as I was looking at the photos and videos from the National Qualifying Event is how many sponsor stickers there are on the vehicles. From Google to Red Bull, the Urban Challenge seems to be heading for a timespot on ESPN2, or at least TLC. Clearly, the marketers at the sponsor companies felt that the lead competitors, like CMU and Stanford, would be

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-3670440304783916542007-10-29T14:07:00.000-04:002007-10-29T14:13:35.244-04:00

Here's a nice video clip from Tartan Racing, showing Boss, their Urban Challenge entry, doing an excellent job on the qualifying course. The road-following is a little unnerving at times, especially the in-camera footage. I still don't think someone would mistake this for a human driver, but it's still pretty impressive, especially when Boss rolls up to a stop sign and stops right on the line.

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-46210057238635295192007-10-26T11:52:00.000-04:002007-10-29T12:07:35.142-04:00

This past weekend saw the start of the qualification rounds for the 2007 Urban Challenge. While there's a lot of day-to-day robotics engineering going on, much of the coverage in the news media has focused on the possibility for specatular robot-wars-style crashes. And, sure enough, Sting Racing complied by ramming its Porsche Cayenne into a barrier at an estimated 24 mph. This story in the

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-64657207865307029492007-10-04T14:56:00.000-04:002007-10-04T15:06:28.992-04:00

We're a little behind on our blogging here at darpagrandchallenge.com, but it's worth noting that DARPA has announced the list of the thirty-six semifinalist teams (here), and also that the finals will be held on the grounds of the former George AFB in Victorville, CA. The competition site is apparently used as an urban battlefield training ground by the Army, so it sounds like a good fit, and

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-58355490400415633282007-02-24T12:17:00.000-05:002007-02-24T12:30:13.019-05:00

Meet Junior, Stanford's entry into the 2007 Urban Challenge. Junior is a 2007 VW Passat. As you can see, Junior has already been festooned with sponsor logos -- VW, Intel, Google, and, uh, Red Bull. Guess we know what's keeping their programmers and engineers going through those late-night build sessions. The official spec sheet explains the basics: platform and drive train by VW,

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-79650264249857522832007-02-24T09:59:00.000-05:002007-02-24T10:15:00.213-05:00

Gizmag recently discussed the history of government-sponsored contests as a driving force for new technology innovation. The ancestor of today's Grand Challenge was the prize awarded to John Harrison for developing a method for measuring longitude at sea. The prize was open for nearly 60 years; Harrison himself labored on the solution for more than 30. In a demonstration of how such a prize

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-20149228218125804742007-02-23T17:58:00.000-05:002007-02-23T17:58:40.930-05:00

Reigning Grand Challenge champion Stanford has been getting the lion's share of the Urban Challenge press, but there are lots of other teams out there working to win some recognition. This recent story shows how the Challenge is helping to spawn new ventures like Blacksburg's TORC Technologies, who are earning their chops as sub-contractors for Virginia Tech's robot team. Ready for the

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-66975629615953291052007-02-23T17:50:00.000-05:002007-02-23T17:50:01.742-05:00

For those just tuning in, the San Jose Mercury News has a nice capsule reviewing the history of the Grand Challenge events. A SHORT HISTORY OF DARPA'S GRAND CHALLENGE

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-88590937029188398032007-02-23T15:55:00.000-05:002007-02-23T15:55:10.725-05:00

While the DARPA Grand Challenge (and upcoming Urban Challenge) are both fascinating tests of engineering skill, there hasn't been much focus on the ultimate use of the resulting technology. DARPA, after all, is the research and development branch of the US Department of Defense. Alternative blog Infoshop is featuring a 2-part analysis of the ethics of using robots for warfighting. No matter

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-1135808025436571582005-12-28T17:11:00.000-05:002005-12-28T17:15:11.540-05:00

WIRED has an excellent article in the January 2006 issue charting the path to victory of the Stanford DARPA Grand Challenge team. Read the story here.

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-1119367801127756462005-06-21T11:09:00.000-04:002005-06-21T11:30:01.173-04:00

After completing on-site inspections of the 118 Grand Challenge entrants, DARPA has selected 40 teams to participate in the National Qualifying Event, to be held in California on September 27 (press release here). DARPA has posted a map showing the home locations of all of the semifinalists. Of these 40 teams, 16 are located in California; 11 of those are in the Los Angeles area. Another 5

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-1110833241771041702005-03-14T15:38:00.000-05:002005-03-14T15:47:21.773-05:00

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.

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-1109808691955497152005-03-02T18:43:00.000-05:002005-03-02T19:11:31.956-05:00

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

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-1094794970611764932004-09-10T01:20:00.000-04:002004-09-10T10:10:08.930-04:00

If you're in the market for motor controllers for your Grand Challenge vehicle, Roboteq is offering a 20% discount to verified 2005 entrants. In return, you'll have to hand over some logo space on your vehicle. Sounds like a fair deal ... I haven't played with any of their products, but their AX2550 motor controllers look like just the ticket for powering steering, brake and accelerator

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-1093957206513113972004-08-31T08:45:00.000-04:002004-08-31T10:43:11.343-04:00

Twin brothers Michael and Geoffrey Howe are preparing to enter their home-built twin-tracked vehicle, dubbed Rip Saw, in next year's Grand Challenge. The platform looks solid: 3,500 pounds of tank treads, steel space frame, and a V-8 engine; all reportedly capable of reaching 60 mph. The Howes are now working on the hard part -- navigation and control electronics to make Rip Saw go. Read more

Robtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140314.post-1093924231293046382004-08-30T23:45:00.000-04:002004-08-30T23:50:31.293-04:00

Applications for the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge are now available for download. If you fill out and submit the 1-page Part 1 (basically just name and address), you'll be placed on DARPA's mailing list and team tracking page. Teams have until February 11 to submit the first two parts of the application.

Rob