Government Technology

Robot Race Yields Champion


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November 9, 2007 By

Photo: Carnegie Mellon's winning robot "Boss" 

Seventy miles from Los Angeles, in the Mojave Desert, a race unlike any other was held. For two weeks in late October and early November, teams from around the country competed for a $2 million purse in the third DARPA Grand Challenge.

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, again hosted its Grand Challenge, an event that pits autonomous automobiles against nature, time and each other. The two previous races, in 2004 and 2005, were held on a desert course, with the goal for each "bot" simply to get from start to finish. This year, DARPA ramped up the level of complexity by presenting bots with an array of "urban challenges." Traffic, four-way stops and other robots combined to make this year's event far more difficult.

Initially 35 teams were entered. Some came from universities, others from defense contractors, and a few were primarily private endeavors. After a week of qualification events, the field was pared down to 11 robots that would compete in the final event on Nov. 3.

"This was really a different event and a very difficult event," Tony Tether, director of DARPA, told the teams prior to announcing the finalists. "And I know, with maybe a very few exceptions, all of you believe that you should be in the finals. Unfortunately that's not going to be the case."


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