Robot Cars Rally For Desert Race

from the where-we're-going,-we-don't-need-drivers... dept

Last month we wrote about the DARPA Grand Challenge road race, where the defense department is running a contest to have people build entirely autonomous vehicles drive a 250-mile desert course from Las Vegas to Los Angeles that will only be given to the teams two hours before the race begins. Now, News.com is running an article with more details about the race and some of the teams that hope to take part. One of the concerns in the first article we had on the subject was that the rules were problematic, but this article points out that, based on feedback from participants, they've adjusted the rules to make them more reasonable. At the same time, though, many of the participants wonder if it's really possible to build a vehicle that will make it all the way through the course. The biggest problem is avoiding obstacles. GPS systems can help guide the vehicle (though, at least part of the course will be GPS-free), but figuring out that you're about to hit a rock at 45 miles-per-hour and avoiding it, is not as simple.

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