Monday, November 5, 2007

Fourth Annual DARPA Urban Challenge: CMU claims 1st


For the past four years researchers from America's top universities have assembled extremely intelligent SUVs that are run entirely by remote for the purpose of racing other teams of life-sized remote control SUVs over a difficult desert course in a remote part of southern California. It may sound a bit silly but it has helped spawn a wave of new technology and help inch humanity closer to that elusive dream of SUVs that can drive themselves across California...The prize of $2 million is nothing to balk at however and CMU loves winning it every year a winner has been awarded.

In 2004 with only three teams participating CMU did the best. This year there were three teams out of eleven that finished in the 6 hour maximum. Finishing first was Stanford followed by CMU and Virginia Tech in 3rd. CMU was declared the winner on sunday because of other criteria such as safety and control, however, Stanford and VA Tech didn't go home empty handed with a $1 million and $500,000 second and thrid place prize money respectively.

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