DARPA Grand Challenge 2005

fishdan wrote to mention that the Darpa Grand Challenge is getting underway again. The qualifying rounds started yesterday. National media has picked up on the story, with pieces at the Washington Post and Seattle Times. From the Post: "The autonomous robotic vehicles began competing Wednesday in the first of a series of qualifying rounds at the California Speedway. Half will advance to the Oct. 8 starting line of the so-called Grand Challenge. The grueling, weeklong semifinals are designed to test the vehicles' ability to cover a roughly 2-mile stretch of the track without a human driver or remote control. Participants ranging from souped-up SUVs to military behemoths will be graded on how well they can self-drive on rough road, make sharp turns and avoid obstacles _ hay bales, trash cans, wrecked cars _ while relying on GPS navigation and sensors, radar, lasers and cameras that feed information to computers."

If there's one thing worse

[HugePedlar]

than a soccer mom driving her only child in an SUV it's an SUV driving no one.

Only in America could it say *from* SUV :-)

[fantomas]

Only in the USA could it say FROM souped-up SUVs :-)

Here in the UK it would probably be FROM a bunch of lego bricks and a clockwork motor UP TO a Sinclair C5 (or possibly an Austin Mini with an Aibo gaffa-taped in)...

zzzhhhwweeewww zzzhhhwweeewww

[menorikey]

I don't care if these vehicles can drive by themselves 2 miles or 20, just make sure they come with a red LED on the front that alternates back and forth and make it say "right away Michael" everytime I get in the car.

How about a Midget?

[spicydragonz]

Remember the famouse automaton Mephisto from the 19th century that claimed to be a chess playing robot.
http://www.angelfire.com/games/SBChess/automaton.h tml [angelfire.com]
I think I could hide a midget inside an SUV with enough computer looking doohickies to make a cool $2mill.

Re:Destroyed?

[menkhaura]

And, last I heard, jet engines and a cruising speed of 716 mph wasn't street-legal anywhere

Not even in German Autobahns?

*Sigh*

Re:The amazing failures of AI?

[Anonymous Coward]

"even a dog could handle the task"

But how would he reach the pedals? Sorry, just kidding.
My dog does it all the time. I just put a hunk of wood under the gas pedal and drop a brick on top.
He only needs about half throttle to cruise for cats anyway.

HiP

Re:If there's one thing worse

[HugePedlar]

Actually I was aiming for +4 Funny. I'm as surprised as you that it's modded insightful. Personally I think it's refreshingly great that these vehicles are being used for what they're supposed to.