Another Robot Race

Last month I posted about the Great Robot Race. Well, the folks at DARPA at it again. Only this time robots will make their way through city streets, instead of the desert, during Grand Challenge

The Pentagon said Monday that a third Grand Challenge competition would be held to foster research and development into advanced robot vehicles.

In contrast to the previous contest, which took place in the desert on the border between California and Nevada, the new competition will be carried out in a mock urban area. Robots will be required to obey traffic laws while merging into traffic, as well as negotiating traffic circles, busy intersections and obstacles. The event is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2007.

First prize for successfully completing the 60-mile course in less than six hours will be $2 million. Second prize will be $500,000 and third prize is set at $250,000.

But if you want to participate, you’d better hurry. There’s already an Urban Challenge Participants Conference scheduled for May 20th, in Reston, Virginia. You can register at the Grand Challenge website. After that, you’ll have a bit more time (but not much), depending on which track you choose

DARPA also will make funding available for contenders before the finals, through two tracks:

  • Teams could submit detailed proposals for up to $1 million in technology development funds, with the government obtaining limited licensing rights to the resulting technologies. The selected teams would proceed to a semifinal known as the National Qualification Event.
  • Teams could participate in a series of qualifying tests, just as competitors did in the 2004 and 2005 DARPA Grand Challenges. The teams selected for the National Qualification Event would get $50,000, and the teams that are successful at that event will get $100,000 and a spot in the November 2007 finals.

Track A proposals are due on June 23rd, and Track B proposals on October 5th.

One Comment

  • Star Trek says:

    grando tilico mi egoeir te rasmo vortadaro coitamo. deira te ssendo regrala nos ssespa o entemeo crerd redes bien.