LOGAN, UT — March 14, 2004 — Autonomous Solutions Inc. (ASI) partnered with the University of Florida’s Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics (CIMAR) to build a vehicle to compete in the DARPA Grand Challenge, a driverless race for a one million dollar prize. ASI and CIMAR competed as Team CIMAR, and were selected from a field of eighty-six entries to be one of twenty-five contestants. After a week of testing in California, only 15 teams qualified to compete in the final phase on March 13, 2004.
Mel Torrie, president of ASI, said before the race "This will be a huge milestone in the history of robotic vehicles and all those who did not take the plunge and try this will regret it for a long time." In the actual race, all the vehicles had been disabled after five hours and none of them completed the 140 mile course. Team CIMAR’s vehicle traveled the eighth greatest distance. It was disabled after it became entangled in a barbed wire fence that its sensors could not detect.
"I am very pleased with how well the Challenge team and vehicle did," Torrie said of the race, and commented on how little time the team had to prepare: "With official notification coming Christmas Eve, it was a miracle that we even got to the start line." He also said investments made in developing technology for the race will pay out for a long time, and that ASI had built a great relationship with the University of Florida. "We learned a lot from each other's unique perspective and we look forward to this relationship growing stronger as we work towards next year's Challenge."
The Team CIMAR vehicle, named NaviGATOR, is a salvaged and converted 1993 Isuzu Trooper with a decidedly new look. It is equipped with actuators to control its steering, throttle, brakes, and transmission. Various sensors, GPS tracking, and ASI's autonomous vehicle control software, Mobius, allow the NaviGATOR to plan a path to its destination and avoid obstacles.
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), an arm of the Department of Defense, sponsored the autonomous ground vehicle race. Contestant vehicles were required to drive themselves from Barstow, California to near Las Vegas, Nevada in less than ten hours to complete the race and qualify for the prize. Most of the vehicles were disabled because they ran off the road and either got stuck or couldn’t find their way back on.
Dr. Anthony Tether, Director of DARPA, declared the day “A most important first step in a long journey.” He said, “Although none of the vehicles completed the course, and we were not able to award the cash prize, we learned a tremendous amount today about autonomous ground vehicle technology. Some vehicles made it seven miles, some made only one mile, but they all made it to the Challenge, and that in itself is a remarkable accomplishment.”
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