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Autonomous Robots' Desert Race
celady writes: "From KurzweilAI.net, apparently DARPA, the main research and development center for the department of defense, is going to fund an all-terrain robot race .
The robots will race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas completely without human intervention. This could prove useful in the battlefield someday. DARPA really has some interesting projects going on. This one is BORING compared to the Vortex Combustor and the Chip-Size Atomic Clock. Watch the DARPA site for updates."
Granted, GPS would be an integral component of mapping and directional navigation. However, a competiting robot would have to dynamically respond to its surroundings (other robots, terrain, unforeseen obstacles) as well as be capable of tasks such as refueling (as the article suggests).
The challenge presented by this competition is enormous. The combination of speed, AI, ruggedness, and endurance is exciting as it hasn't really been seen outside military applications.
It's also great to see that some real money is likely to be fronted and should therefore attract some high-profile organizations as well as some interesting ideas. Competitions are one of the best ways to promote development by outlining clear goals, bringing like-minded people together to exchange ideas, and gain public media support for often obscure topics.
Rapidly approaching the Zener knee...
There used to be an annual race like this that ended in 1989 I believe when parts of the area became National Park. So the Machines already have more rights than us Citizens?
"Autonomous bots, transform!"
Who else wants together to field a robot? We'll cobble it out of junkyard parts, load linux on it, strap it into CowboyNeal's car and turn it loose. Hell, at least it'll be a great excuse to go to Las Vegas...
Is it robot day or something?
;-)
Maybe slashdot needs a "Robot" topic? The topic is getting incredibly interesting now. In just a few few year, we may have autonomous, social, biped androids doing lots of interesting things.
I've said it before: All I want is a house robot that will vaccuum, do the dishes, get the paper, bring me a beer, etc. It plug itself into an outlet to charge itself when not in use.
And make biscuits.
A finite environment, with finite tasks. When is GE going to bring that good thing to life?
Software Wars
Does it have to be a ground/water-only robot?
If it can fly, everything becomes simple.
One person already pointed out combining a GPS with an R/C plane - Maybe that would work, although there's the issue of landing - The "finish line" may not have room allow a glide-in landing.
Put a GPS and a computer in a chopper, though... Someone had a link to an open-source helicopter autopilot project a few robotics articles ago.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?