Carnegie Mellon wins desert robot race

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Story Published: Nov 5, 2007 at 10:02 AM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 5, 2007 at 10:02 AM MDT

By Associated Press

VICTORVILLE, Calif. (AP) - A Carnegie Mellon University team of engineers and their tricked-out, driverless Chevy Tahoe won $2 million for winning a Pentagon-sponsored robot race in the Southern California desert.

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, program manager Norman Whitaker said.

"They did everything right: followed all the speed laws, stopped at the intersections," Whitaker said after Saturday's race, the third of its kind. "It was really a phenomenal performance."

A team from Stanford University won the $1 million second-place prize by designing a robotic vehicle that completed the course at a 13 mph average, while engineers from Virginia Tech received $500,000 for finishing third with a souped-up SUV that finished the course at 12 mph, Whitaker said.

The robot rumble - sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - was held at the old George Air Force Base east of Los Angeles that was converted into a 60-mile obstacle course.

The races are part of the Pentagon's effort to fulfill a congressional mandate to have a third of military ground vehicles unmanned by 2015. However, many competitors said they wanted to make highway driving less dangerous.

Throngs of spectators turned out to cheer on the driverless vehicles as they zipped through a mock city. Vehicles were judged by their ability to safely complete the course within six hours while following all traffic laws.

This year's winners will now focus on the Google Lunar X Prize, in which the Internet search company will award $20 million to the first team to land an automated rover on the moon that can send back high definition images and video, said team leader Red Whittaker, a Carnegie Mellon professor of robotics.

The team planned to use the $2 million won Saturday as seed money for the Google prize, but may do a little celebrating first, Whittaker said.

"We're sure to reinvest in research and education but the next team meeting might be in Cancun," he said.

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