All entrants flunk "robot race" just on CNN no link that I know of,

[mike1963]

reported most of them broke down, crashed & caught fire. The most distance any of them got was about 10 miles...
:eyes:
Edit: add Yahoo link
http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=Tech&cat=Robots_and_Robotics

[slackmaster]

1. Are you referring to the DARPA contest in the Mojave desert?

It's a very tough challenge.

[mike1963]

3. Yes, was looking for their link..."somethingchallenge.org" but couldn't

locate it, sorry...

[htuttle]

2. Darpa Derby A Bust

Cue trombone

Whaa-Whaaa...

[mhr]

4. http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/

eom

[papau]

5. AP story link

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=716&e=9&u=/ap/20040313/ap_on_re_us/robot_race

[Kenneth ken]

6. thanks

I read a story about that yesterday, and it sounded like an interesting challenge. So it's good to read how it turned out.

Tough luck for those folks, though. Some teams had spent quite a lot of money building their machines.

[renegade000]

7. EXCELLENT!

this means i can assemble my team of crack troops to enter it next year...

[dixielib]

8. Naive question

If we have unmanned drones, how hard is it to have unmaned cars?

[renegade000]

9. the unmanned drones are human operated

these were entirely AI controlled cars

[dixielib]

10. thanks,

and good luck next year.

[renegade000]

11. no prob

and thanks...probably won't end up doing anything, but eh you never know. one can dream, it's how these things start.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

18. Not all of them...

Global Hawk for instance flew from the US to Australia completely unaided, using only its internal AI systems to pilot the aircraft.

However flying and driving are two TOTALLY different tasks. An aircraft doesn't have to pick its route from second to second, whereas an automated car travelling across a desert has to be able to identify obstacles and plan a course to avoid them, while still accomplishing the goal of getting from point A to point B.

[ConcernedCanuk]

12. Not ONE even made it 8 miles on a 140 mile course -

.
.
.

Team # Name . . .Miles Along Course Status Update Time
22 - - Red Team . . . . . . 7 . . . .Disabled 08:38:52
21 - - SciAutonics II . . . 7 . . . .Disabled 10:38:53
5 - - Team Caltech . . . . 1 . . . .Disabled 10:57:22
7 - - Team DAD . . . . . . 6 . . . .Disabled 10:44:53
25 - - Virginia Tech . . . 0 . . . .Disabled 07:58:15
23 - -Axion Racing . . . . 0 . . . .Disabled 10:36:22
2 - - Team CajunBot . . . .0 . . . .Disabled 10:36:47
13 - -Team ENSCO . . . . . 0 . . . .Disabled 10:57:22
4 - - CIMAR . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . .Disabled 10:18:16
10 - -Palos Verdes RoadWarriors 0 . Disabled 10:00:40
17 - -SciAutonics . . . . .1 . . . .Disabled 10:57:22
20 - -Team TerraMax . . . .1 . . . .Disabled 10:57:22
15 - -Team TerraHawk . . . 0 . . . .Withdrawn
9 - - The Golem Group . . .5 . . . .Disabled 10:57:22
16 - -The Blue Team . . . .0 . . . .Withdrawn

.,.....................................................

HECK

were these things running on Windows ?? :evilgrin:

oh - link - http://www.grandchallenge.org/statusboard/

[mike1963]

13. Anybody know which one was the "modified" Hummer?

;-)

[American Renaissance]

14. The red one is the Hum-Vee

There is a pretty good article on this project in this months "Wired"

[mike1963]

16. Ha...yeah I see it now, # 22. Thanks

Thanks to concerned canuck for the pic link!

[ConcernedCanuk]

15. I dunno - could this be it ?

.
.
.



r this guy

??





http://www.grandchallenge.org/gallery/Day4.html

somewhere around this page here

[daleo]

17. It is best that this failed

PNAC and other militarists would love to weaponize devices like this and terrorize even more countries. The part about them wanting to develop autonomous vehicles to drive the blind around is quite amusing. If you don't believe me, read the PNAC document "Rebuilding America's Defenses" and count the references to unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, etc. These people dream of 'projecting force' by machine. They have a mad scientist fetish.

[RainBoy]

20. They weaponize everything but..

isn't it a bit naive to think like that? I mean, we would miss out on all kinds of innovative technologies (especially in medicine) if we never pursued anything because of the notion that it will be used for military purposes. Society benefits greatly from these types of innovative accomplishments. Robots this large can be great tools for search and rescue operations where it is too dangerous to send personnel such as a chemical spill or the like.

[daleo]

22. I doubt if it can be stopped

But that doesn't mean we have to like it. Unfortunately, the harmful applications will probably far outweigh the good. By the way, consider that it is DARPA that is sponsoring the competition - that means that it is meant to be military from the get-go.

Interesting how the west doesn't have this kind of 'what the hell, progress can't be stopped' attitude when it comes to non-allied countries developing nuclear warhead and ballistic missile technology. That doesn't mean I am for proliferation - just pointing out that we do try to control and stop the development and spread of technology when it is in our interests.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

32. Losing actual soldiers in low-tech patrols is politically costly.

When the Wolfowitz's can have their SKYNET T2004 robotic troopers and Humvees patrolling the streets of Baghdad instead of a 19 year old from Shit Creek, Alabama then they will not have to pay a political cost for military adventurism.

[BiggJawn]

36. Funny you should mention "Skynet"...

Skynet, DARPA...Hmmmmm.....
I can only hope that I'll never live to see this technology come to full flower.

[RainBoy]

19. this is an exerise they can learn from..

It's not a failure if they analyze the problems and correct the mistakes to improve chances of success. Science and technology at times is all about trial and error. Very rare is it when engineers and scientists are 100% successful in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd attempts in transforming from concept to innovation. Failure is an opportunity for growth and achievement when properly dealt with.

Better luck for them next time.

[demdave]

33. !st, 2nd or 3rd??? I work with engineers and scientists

and trust me, we stopped naming revisions using the alphabet years ago. lol You are sooooo right. I think many people see defeat in the stumbled steps that together make an epic journey. Science and technology is a bumpy path indeed.

[bvar22]

21. Only a matter of time and money.

The particular manifestation of technology is inevitable. We (the US and coalitions of the intimidated) will soon be able to fight mechanized war against less developed peoples without risking bloodshed from our people.

Currently, a poor man's blood is worth alot less than one of these machines. In fact, in Iraq a poor man's blood is worth less than an armored humvee.

[ScottInFlorida]

23. That's too bad

I think it's too bad that there wasn't better results.

The technology that will eventually come out of mobile autonomous robotics will help all of us. For example, fire fighting, human rescue, and better safety in our cars are just three things that this technology can bring us.

I'm fully aware that the DARPA is funding this competition, but military technology has a way of making it into mainstream use, i.e. the Internet.

Regards,

S>

[w4rma]

24. The folks who set this contest up are idiots about high tech, imho.

They are probably the same idiots who think that Star Wars will be working sometime soon or that outsourcing our high tech sector will help America. :eyes:

They should have known beforehand that the challenge was way too tough for what they were offering and current technology.

[DemoTex]

25. Amateur radio scores on fewer bucks

Consistently. Hams are a great source of electronic experimentation.

73s
K9STR

[w4rma]

27. This is very true.

:hi:

[sendero]

29. I second that...

.... of course I am a licensed Amateur Radio operator.

But really, computers have supplanted the role of radios in being the main technological interest of the youngsters out there.

Which is fine with me, I love all technology :)

[mike1963]

28. Yeah, Mac! - -.- ... .-.. .-.-.-

;-)

I never did much of anything all that great but I did set up the first 2-meter repeater W. of the Mississippi (as far as I've been able to tell)...a tweaked 1/4 KW Motorola xmtr* & a 5V 5-cavity rx on my mom's back porch in 62. There weren't even any FCC rules about them back then, I just called it "K5ETH Repeater". Had to homebrew the squelch/key circuit. :D I'm pretty sure I "invented" the .34/.94 freq
pair that's been common since.

* Won't ever forget the afternoon when the grid drive to the 4-125As dropped out - one of them banged like a stick of dynamite. I saved it for some years, the glass on the plate side melted, holed, and created a 'funnel' pointing into the middle. Memories. ;-)

[DemoTex]

30. The 2-meter repeater coverage here in the NC mountains is superb!

Working 2-meters is almost like working HF. I have an easy 2-meter range of 300 miles in most directions. We have just bought a small condo in Greenville,SC. The balcony looks at the antenna farm on Paris Mountain. I look at Paris Mountain (signal-wise) from my mountain house near Rosman. My wife needs a Technician license. Get my drift?

[NashVegas]

26. They Should've Asked

Some of last year's Burning Man festival goers to build them one.

[slackmaster]

31. That's actually a very good idea

Lots of innovation at Burning Man.

[Algorem]

34. Come on let's get it together for the war machine!

[Moderator]

35. Kick

..

[no_arbusto]

37. Anyone remember the movie "Real Genius"?

Chris Knight (Val Kilmer): Now they just need to find a use for a really big laser beam and rotating mirror.
Laslo Hollyfeld: Maybe they already have one.