The SAE World Congress is not just another auto show. To prove this point, along with the Toyota Partner Robot and a collection of DUB magazine cars, 5 vehicles from the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge were displayed.
What is DARPA?
It’s time for all you engineers out there to get excited. DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. A part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2001 mandated that a third of the U.S. Defense Department’s operational ground combat vehicles be unmanned by the year 2015. As part of this initiative, the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director, Defense Research and Engineering is authorized to conduct programs to award up to $10 million for outstanding achievement in the area of vehicle robotics that are potentially applicable to military missions of the Department of Defense.
The Urban Challenge
The objective of the Urban Challenge is to design an unmanned vehicle that is capable of traversing a 60-mile urban course in moving traffic, as quickly and safely as possible, in less than 6 hours. 6 vehicles completed the course, the fastest at an average speed of 13mph.
First prize was $2 million, second prize was $1 million and the third place team was awarded $500,000 (better than a new Cadillac, a set of steak knives or losing your job).
Vehicles at the SAE show
#49 Team Cybernet
The Ann Arbor-based military contractor, Cybernet Systems Corporation, fielded an 11 year old Chrysler Town and Country van filled with $45,000 worth of laser sensors, embedded servers and a laptop. Talk about your aftermarket add-ons. Team Cybernet made it to the 35 team semifinals.
#31 Team Juggernaut
Team Juggernaut hails from Sandy, Utah and is comprised of embedded systems and software engineers. On display was the team’s chase vehicle, also unmanned, a Hummer – while their actual competitive entry was an unmanned ATV. While they made the 35 team semifinals, Team Juggernaut was not one of the 11 finalists.
#44 Team Autonomous Solutions
Another team based in Utah, Autonomous Solutions is a defense contractor that was one of 11 teams that was awarded a $1 million contract in 2006 to participate in the 2007 DARPA Challenge. Even with this seed money and a 2007 Toyota Highlander as a test bed, Team Autonomous was unable to make the final cut.
#8 Gator Nation
Comprised of students and faculty from the University of Florida college of engineering, as well as industry partners Smiths Aerospace of Grand Rapids, Michigan and The Eigenpoint Company of High Springs, Florida, Gator Nation also chose a Toyota Highlander SUV as the basis of their NaviGator (enough said). While the vehicle was covered in colorful graphics, the team may have bitten off more than it could chew as it missed the finals.
#32 Team Victor Tango
You just can’t get more military than this. A team from Virginia Tech (Victor Tango is the military phonetic alphabet for “VT”), in Blacksburg, Virginia chose a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid as the basis for their entry. Team Victor Tango not only made the finals, they placed third, overall, in the competition, taking home a half mil for their efforts. Go Hokies!
Tags: cadillac, Chrysler, Chrysler Town and Country, DARPA, DARPA Urban Challenge, DUB magazine, Ford, Ford Escape, Ford Escape Hybrid, Hummer, SAE, Toyota, Toyota Highlander, University of Florida, Virginia Tech
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