As the Los Angeles Times writes, there was "an unusual crowd" last Saturday at the Petersen Automotive Museum. There were 400 people ready to meet a $1-Million challenge.
Here are some excerpts from the article. Remember that accessing it requires a free registration process.
The federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency had promised $1 million -- tax free -- to the group that, in 13 months, could build and race an unmanned ground vehicle from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
There were whispers that hovercraft might do the trick. Bouncing spheres with gyroscopes were also suggested, as were octopus-like vehicles with legs that sweep across the terrain, traversing potential hazards when necessary.
The Pentagon agency, which helped create the Internet, the stealth bomber and "smart bombs," is sponsoring the contest in part to meet a government mandate that at least one in three Army battle systems soon be unmanned. The organization plans to publish the technical schematics of all competitors' vehicles after the race in March 2004.
Federal rules call for contestants to build a vehicle that can maneuver the 250-mile course without remote control, without radio and with little previous knowledge of the layout or nature of the course.
The writer also looks at some of the teams which will try to meet the challenge, then concludes with this.
"If you talk to the contestants here, you get a mixed reaction," said Daryl Davidson, executive director of the Assn. for Unmanned Vehicle Systems. "Some say it's doable; others think it can't be done."
Source: Cara Mia DiMassa, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2003 (Free registration requested)
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