Three robotic vehicles finish $2M Mojave Desert race
Last year, none of the challengers finished the race, but this year, three did. Three robotic vehicles cruised past the finish line Saturday in a Pentagon-sponsored race across the rugged Mojave desert, giving scientists hope that robots could one day wage battles without endangering soldiers.
"The impossible has been achieved," cried Stanford University's Sebastian Thrun, after the university's customized Volkswagen crossed first. Students cheered, hoisting Thrun atop their shoulders.
23 robots started out in staggered times attempting to cross the Mojave desert without drivers, and without remote controls. The unmanned vehicles must use their computer brains and sensing devices to follow a programmed route and avoid hitting obstacles that may doom their chances.
$2 million dollars is to be awarded to the team that finishes first, if under 10 hours by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
posted by Unknown @ 10:09 AM
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