VICTORVILLE California
Members of a Carnegie Mellon University-based team of engineers and their tricked-out, driverless sport utility vehicle won $2 million (euro1.4 million) for their victory in a Pentagon-sponsored robot race in the Southern California desert, race officials announced.
Tartan Racing’s “Boss” turned in the top performance Saturday as it navigated itself through an urban-style obstacle course at a former Air Force base set up by race organizers from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.
Guided by cameras, lasers and a sophisticated on-board computer, the team’s sport utility vehicle merged with moving cars some piloted by stunt drivers navigated traffic circles and avoided obstacles at an average speed of 14 mph (23 kph), DARPA Urban Challenge program manager Norman Whitaker said Sunday.
“They did everything right: followed all the speed laws, stopped at the intersections,” Whitaker said. “It was really a phenomenal performance.”
A team from Stanford University won the $1 million (euro690,000) second-place prize by designing a robotic vehicle that completed the course at a 13 mph (21 kph kilometer) average, while engineers from Virginia Tech received $500,000 (euro345,000) for finishing third with a souped-up SUV that finished the course at 12 mph (19 kph), Whitaker said.
The robot rumble was held at the old George Air Force Base east of Los Angeles that was converted into a 60-mile (100-kilometer) obstacle course.
