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Robot Race (March 12, 2004, One)

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Program Summary

On March 13, 2004, 15 vehicles departed Barstow, California, in a race to negotiate a 142-mile course through the Mojave Desert. The first one to complete the course in less than 10 hours would collect a million-dollar prize. So what’s the big deal, you say? The vehicles had no drivers.

The competition was sponsored by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), which is interested in finding technology to help the military create robotic vehicles for warfare. What set this challenge apart was that the vehicles had to “think” for themselves: No drivers or remote control devices were permitted. Each one had to be able to run the course entirely on its own, making turns and overcoming obstacles without any help from its human creators. DARPA’s aim is to save lives by using the technologies developed for the race in autonomous vehicles that would replace humans in battle situations. Such vehicles could have enormous potential in planetary exploration as well.

Alas, no winner was crowned. Most of the vehicles disqualified themselves in dramatic fashion, falling over, hitting walls, or snagging on tumbleweeds almost immediately after starting. Carnegie Mellon’s Big Red, a modified Jeep Grand Cherokee that reached speeds of 20 mph, made it seven miles into the desert before hitting an obstacle and catching fire. Neither DARPA nor the designers were disappointed, however, and another challenge is on the drawing board. After all, winning isn’t everything.

Guests

Col. Jose Negron, Grand Challenge program manager for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, Virginia

Related Links and Resources

DARPA Grand Challenge

Nature.com, March 8, 2004: "Robots Rev Up for Grand Challenge Contest"
Robots.net: Robot News and Robotics Info
Wired.com, March 2004: "The Great Robot Race"

For Discussion:

• What distinguished the DARPA Grand Challenge from other races?
• What was DARPA’s purpose for sponsoring the challenge?
• How would robotic vehicles with artificial intelligence be an advantage in wartime? Is the military using pilot-less crafts in any other areas?
• How is robotics being used in everyday life?
• How else could “thinking” robotic vehicles be used?

Activities

It’s da bomb! Robots have been used for many years for remotely defusing or destroying bombs. Find out what other hazardous jobs robots can do at PBS “NOVA’s” Bomb Squad. A robotics scientist discusses the difference between a robot and a remote control device and his vision of the future of robots. On the Hazardous Duty Robots page, viewers get acquainted with three robots and decide which one is best for a given scenario. Clips of robotic vehicles in action are also provided.

If I only had a brain. The Whyfiles attends a convention of artificially intelligent mini-vehicles (Roaming Robots) and discovers it’s not as easy as it looks. And someday we may get our fondest wish—a car that knows its own way home. Read about this project at Look, Mom, No Hands! Robot Invasion, also from the Whyfiles. A New Race of Robots (Riverdeep) examines the Golem Project at Brandeis University, in which a computer designs a robot through “evolution” with no help from humans.

Tin soldiers and mechanical bugs. Scientists are studying the structures of flying insects to develop “entomopters,” robotic aircraft that could explore Mars better than a terrestrial vehicle (Tiny Flying Robots Modeled on Insects, National Geographic). Have students study the structure and flight dynamics of an insect and design their entomopter.

Git along, little dogie. Check out NASA Spacelink’s Robotics page for a host of related Web sites.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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