20 March 2008

November's DARPA robot race

By Jim Pinto

Last November, 11 robotic vehicles participated in the latest Urban Challenge sponsored by DARPA, the Pentagon’s research wing. This was a milestone event demonstrating robotic cars’ ability to follow complex routes and negotiate traffic completely under their own control.

Winners showed the ability to steer safely around an abandoned military base, traveling autonomously for 6 hours and 60 miles. A sports utility vehicle nicknamed “Boss,” developed at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, won the $2 million first prize. Stanford University, which won the 2005 race, came in second, and Virginia Tech was third. Only six of 11 finalists finished the course.

Officials said $3.5 million in prizes were able to jumpstart robotics developers and help fulfill the official U.S. “mandate”—one-third of all military vehicles be unmanned by 2015.

The race showed how far away that goal still is: At one point, two robotic SUVs collided. Another mistook a driveway for a road. One came within inches of plowing into a concrete pillar and had to be taken off the course.

Taken together, all of these imperfections prove the dream of a totally driverless fleet of military vehicles is still too technically complex. However, what DARPA’s race really demonstrated is robotic driving technology is ready to work together with human drivers, not replace them.

Related links:

• Aggressive but safe' SUV wins robotic street race:
  http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn12874-aggressive-but-safe-suv-wins-robotic-street-race.html
• A Land Rover That Drives Itself:
  http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19471/?a=f
• Riding With Robots 2.0:
  http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/riding-with-robots-20/
• DARPA Robot Race 2005:
  http://listpilot.net/c/ISA/1PYRD/w/isa.org/intechnews.cfm?id=6703

Behind the byline

Jim Pinto is an industry analyst and founder of Action Instruments. You can e-mail him at jim@jimpinto.com or view his writings at www.JimPinto.com. Read the Table of Contents of his book, Pinto’s Points, at www.jimpinto.com/writings/points.html.