Surge in DARPA GC Filings as Deadline Nears

Posted 26 Jan 2005 at 20:46 UTC by steve

A DARPA Press release (PDF format) says there has been a surge in team applications for the DARPA Grand Challenge in recent weeks. The final deadline for filing an application to participate is approaching on February 11. Over 125 applications have been filed by teams promising to field autonomous robots capable of the 142 mile, 10 hour desert trek. 34 teams from the previous Grand Challenge are returning but three times that number of new teams have joined, representing 30 states and 3 foreign countries.

I've forgotten...who won last year?, posted 27 Jan 2005 at 15:58 UTC by jeffkoenig » (Master)

I know that the goal was not nearly met, but who did the best?

Who won last year?, posted 27 Jan 2005 at 17:36 UTC by steve » (Master)

Here's a link to the final results:

http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge04/media/final_data.pdf

They all did amazingly badly. The best result was the CMU robot, which managed about 7 miles before it set it itself on fire. Most didn't even make it out of the starting area.

If it's beyond your capability...lower the goal!, posted 27 Jan 2005 at 18:25 UTC by jeffkoenig » (Master)

Hmm.

I wonder how big the starting area is.

It might be interesting to try to produce a rather dumb 'bot that could just make it past the gates.

Forget about anything after that.