DARPA Grand Challenge

The DARPA Grand Challenge is a United States government-sponsored competition that aims to create the first fully autonomous vehicles capable of competing on an under-300 mile, off-road course in the Mojave Desert in the Southwest. This annual challenge took place for the first time on March 13, 2004 and was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense.

Related Topics:
United States government - Autonomous vehicles - Off-road - Mojave Desert - Southwest - March 13 - 2004 - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - U.S. Department of Defense

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This was the first such distance competition in the United States; to date, there have been other competitions for semi-autonomous vehicles, but none on the scale of the Grand Challenge. The U.S. Department of Defense has permitted DARPA to offer prize money ($1 million) to facilitate robotic development, with the ultimate goal of making one of three ground military forces automated by 2015. Following the 2004 event, Dr. Tony Tether, the director of DARPA, announced that the prize money had been increased to $2 million for the next event, which was claimed on October 8, 2005.

Related Topics:
United States - U.S. Department of Defense - 2015 - 2004 event - Dr. Tony Tether - October 8 - 2005

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In the first year of the event, none of the robot vehicles came even close to meeting the challenge. In 2005, the second year of the event, several vehicles successfully completed 132-mile race, including the Stanford robotic SUV. Most vehicles in the 2005 race surpassed the distance of the best vehicle in the 2004 race which was a mere 7.36 miles.

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The competition was open to all U.S. citizens and organizations, including high school and college students, businesses and other organizations. More than 100 teams registered in the first year, bringing a wide variety of technological skills to the race.

Related Topics:
High school - College

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