Primm, Nev. – A customized Volkswagen SUV created by Stanford University on Saturday became the first driverless vehicle to cross the finish line of a $2 million Pentagon-sponsored robot race across the rugged Mojave Desert.
The race announcer did not immediately declare a winner because 22 out of the 23 robots left the starting line at staggered times at dawn, racing against the clock rather than each other.
As the Volkswagen robot dubbed “Stanley” crossed the finish line, a group from Stanford erupted into cheers.
Last year’s much-hyped inaugural robot race ended without a winner when all the self-navigating vehicles broke down shortly after leaving the starting gate.
Of the 23 robots that competed Saturday, 18 vehicles failed to navigate the entire 132-mile course. Three finished the race, and two were still on the course late Saturday afternoon.
The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to award $2 million to the first vehicle to cover the race in less than 10 hours. The taxpayer- funded race was intended to spur development of remote-control-free robots that could be used in battle. Stanley finished the course in less than 7 1/2 hours.
The vehicles used their computer brains and sensing devices to follow a programmed route. Vehicles have to drive on rough, winding desert roads and dry lake beds filled with overhanging brush and man-made obstacles. The machines also must traverse a narrow 1.3-mile mountain pass with a steep drop-off and go through tunnels designed to knock out their GPS signals.
