Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

2007 DARPA Urban Challenge Videos

The first DARPA Urban Challenge qualification videos are in, and the competition is intense. As you recall, 11 teams will compete in the Urban Challenge Final Event on Saturday, November 3 at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, Ca.

Here's the Urban Challenge overview:

The teams will attempt to complete a complex 60-mile urban course with live traffic in less than six hours. The finalists will operate on the course roads with approximately 50 human-driven traffic vehicles. Speed is not the only factor in determining the winners, as vehicles must also meet the same standards required to pass the California DMV road test.

Take a look at Talos, the vehicle entry for MIT, negotiating Area C, which involved intersection precedence (robots should wait their turn, just like everyone else) and vehicle reaction to roadblocks.


(MIT Talos Urban Challenge Qualification)

Take a look at Team CarOLO, made up by members of five Institutes of the Braunschweig University of Technology supported and sponsored by a consortium of the German industry. Team CarOLO says:

Sending our car "Caroline", a Volkswagen Passat Model year 2006, into the "battle", we are sure that the use of best German engineering and recent efforts in autonomous vehicle projects demonstrate our abilities and will enable us to reach the top ranks in the Urban challenge. We are proud to be guests in the US, to be able to compete in friendship in the Challenge, to learn from competitors and to show our capabilities.
Take a look at their entry in the Practice Area.


(CarOLO Volkswagen Passat at DARPA Urban Challenge practice)

Golem Group's autonomous Prius acts like a nervous kid in driver's ed, flooring it and then jumping over the curb.


(Golem Group's Prius takes a curb in Urban Challenge practice)

Finally, take a look at the opening ceremonies; it has at least a few seconds for each vehicle. You'll also enjoy the music, which I think was taken from an episode of the A-Team.


(DARPA urban Challenge opening ceremonies and overview.)

These great teams of engineers are well on their way to surmounting DARPA's challenge. How long will it take for the techniques developed in these vehicles to autonomous "autocabs" (following Robert Heinlein) or "robot cabs" (following Philip K. Dick) operating in cities?

You tell me.

Also, check out the DARPA Urban Challenge website.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/2/2007)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")

Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1972.

P1 Just The Latest Robot To Take A Beating From Humans
'...we mere people come second.'

Autonomous Robotic Dentist - Would You Say 'Ahhh'?
You might be surprised at how much more efficient this could be.

Torobo Humanoid Robot Hammers A Nail
7-axis dual arms, 3-axis waist (pitch, pitch, yaw), 3-axis neck (yaw, pitch, roll), and 4-axis undercarriage!

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'

Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.'

Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."

AI Note-Taking From Google Meet
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'

Qore IcePlates Are Personal Cooling Suits
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'

P1 Just The Latest Robot To Take A Beating From Humans
'...we mere people come second.'

Waymo Cars Shout At Each Other, Autonomously
'My cars talk to one another. I have no doubt about it...'

Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
'...you spray it on.'

How Long Till We Have These Tattoos?
Truth or fiction?

Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'

Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species
'...there was no one alive who had ever seen them. But they existed in the Life Bank.'

Tele-Driving Offers Jobs For Tele-Drivers, Not AIs
''...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'

Autonomous Robotic Dentist - Would You Say 'Ahhh'?
You might be surprised at how much more efficient this could be.

GM Scraps Cruise Origin Robotaxi With No Steering Wheel
'Ames tinkered around with something on the instrument board when he got in; and in a few moments we were off.'

Taza Aya Air-Curtain Tech Protects Turkey Workers
'I'm going to have to buy a filter-mask.'

Torobo Humanoid Robot Hammers A Nail
7-axis dual arms, 3-axis waist (pitch, pitch, yaw), 3-axis neck (yaw, pitch, roll), and 4-axis undercarriage!

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.