Could this be the ultimate luxury? A Land Rover LR3 that requires no driver? Actually, the LR3 was the chosen vehicle at MIT for its entry into this year’s DARPA Urban Challenge, a competition run by the central research and development organization of the Department of Defense where all of the entries are required to run a course “without human help”.
Those clever researchers at MIT are now finalists in the Urban Challenge which is set for November 3, with $2 million, $1 million and $500,000 prizes going to the top three finishers.
The challenge? The MIT team of students and faculty developers will take their LR3 to the Defense Department’s urban military training facility in California, where it will have 6 hours to execute simulated military supply missions in a mock urban setting without any human intervention. All the while obeying California traffic laws! (Does this mean it has to meet extraneous emission standards as well?)
The LR3 will – hopefully – accomplish this using multiple laser range scanners, high-rate video cameras and automotive radar units to perform autonomous planning and motion control. Remember; No Human Intervention! There is no radio-controlled steering or braking. This LR3 will have to think for itself!
That is quite a challenge, but then $2 million is quite a prize. And successful results could eventually save American lives on the battlefield. But you just know that these guys at MIT would accept this challenge for free.
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