I completely and utterly agree with everyones previous posts of healthy skepticism. I do indeed sound, heck, I freely admit that I AM whining like a little wimp. I am a bitter grump and whining about how unfare life has been to me. Well, not THAT unfair, but I can still complain as it is my personal way of healing. To me, everything I have said is fact. But at the same time, I can see how it looks from the outside looking in. I question my sanity all the time and can only arrive at what I feel is my own personal truth about what happened. Having said that, in the form of PROOF, I really have none. I can say is that we recently purchased the domain name RJUNKWORKS.COM and you may soon be able to look for a set of web pages showing our designs. The page I have refered to is but one part of our up and coming web site. Currently, the only pictures on the web of our design can be found at: www.tkwood.com and clicking on the CHRISTMAS LETTER, 2003 link at the bottom. There, at the bottom of our yearly family xmas letter are some pictures of the truck with the computers on board. Yes, not much to look at, but all I have right now until our web pages are completed on the 14th of this month. Along with many web pages, we will also be publishing our old technical paper at that time so you may read it for yourself. Please, enjoy and determine for yourself if it even sounds feasible or if I am just a crazy whining crank (a distinct possibility). If any of you are still interested at that point, read about our teams OPEN CHALLENGE at our web site. (Note to myself: Somehow - I think this is OPEN CHALLENGE thing is going to wind up a total mess!) Furthermore, I can also send you a copy of the TV interview of our team from German TV (you will have to get a translator to understand it if you do not speak German). Still, you can always say: But none of that stuff proves anything. You are right! As the saying goes: You have to have been there and seen things from my tainted (whining) eyes.
Looks like allteams
will require an alleged Site Visit in order to participate
in this next Grand Challenge. Last time, their PreChosen Few
did not need to have a site visit. As a result, you can see what happened!
The newer rules will still allow them to game it any way they
really want to. Actually, after reading the newer rules, it looks like it
will be easier for them to refuse teams for non technical reasons. Before,
they had to explain exactly why the teams technical papers did not
pass their muster. Now, all they have to do is not like any teams Video
Presentation in order to disqualify them! They will not even have to
give a a reason why they were not chosen like they had to before!
The implied answer is that they did not like your video for some reason.
What once was a technical challenge has now turned into which teams are
able to produce the slickest and flashiest video of their alleged race
vehicle. Something tells me that technical challenge was never the case.
Rest assured, they are not going to like our teams video for some, as yet,
unknown or dreamed up reason even though we already fulfill and
surpass the current GC requirements. We shall all see.
Read
this
older post. I think it speaks for itself. One wonders how many teams
they will let in this time around? Or, is this going to be the
same-old
same-old?
I was the lead engineer of the Grand Challenge team 'R Junk Works'. Our paper was submitted and approved by DARPA for the Grand Challenge. They then put us in the 'Partially Acceptable' category just after approval. This was no big deal for us as we already had our prototype vehicle built and were testing it in October of 2003 before we submitted our Technical Paper. Their 'Site Visit' seemed like just another hoop to jump through before being in the race. There are only three people on our team, and we all have worked in one form or another for the 'Lockheed Martin Skunk Works', so our little group we called the spin offs - or the 'R Junk Works'. We are also located in Palmdale California. In retrospect, perhaps it was our team name that gave DARPA hesitation. Heaven forbid that only three guys in a garage in Palmdale with a name like ours win their Grand Challenge! Anyway, the four DARPA site visitors/inspectors arrived at my garage on the 5th of December to inspect our progress. They road around in our test vehicle that had: Integrated DGPS, LN200INU and V4L2 Vision systems running under LINUX Fedora Core 1.0 all installed and functional in my personal 1998 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. They let it slip that this was a 'first for them' to be riding around in one of the contestants vehicles. They road around in the drivers seat around the desert next to my house here in Palmdale along a pre programmed course that took them down dirt desert roads and washes here in the Mojave Desert - only a few mile away from where they are going to have the actual race. Members of this inspection team jump in front of our vehicle as it was traversing the pre programmed course and watched how it avoided them by driving around them and continuing down the course. They watched with amazement as our vehicle raced along in excess of 35 mph across the rutty Mojave Desert roads. Almost everything worked perfectly for the demo except our main vision system camera had been damaged the day before and we were using our backup camera that was having intermittent problems, but did not take away from the totality of the demo. It was probably one of the best demos I have ever given in my entire professional life. If I could summarize their attitude of the demonstration, it would be that they were amazed, enthused and excited over our participation in the Grand Challenge. They also let it somewhat slip that we were the farthest along team that they had seen as yet! I tend to think that the inspection team was 'On our side' as possible contestants. After the demo, we assumed that it was inevitable that we would be selected for one of the remaining six contestant slots left. This was far from the case. They called us on December 17th (my birthday) and told us that we were not selected to participate. One of the inspection team members said: 'After a much heated discussion amongst the DARPA Program Director and our inspection team, I have been told to tell you that you were not selected to participate in the Grand Challenge.' The transparent reason they gave us was that our team did not, as yet, have an actual 'race vehicle'. A very trivial problem for us when it comes right down to it. This was by their very own undoing, as once our vehicle sponsors got wind that we were not in the 'Totally Acceptable' list; they backed out and were waiting for our team to be on that list before donating our actual race vehicle. We even supplied statements of sponsorship from that sponsor = they obviously did not read them = OR = perhaps there was another incentive. After talking to a guy called 'Dan' who is the editor of a national magazine and good friend of mine, he also went to the 'Kick Off' for the Grand Challenge that DARPA had in LA last year. He was able to 'Liquor Up' one of the DARPA legal reps, and SHE intimated that the reason they were holding the Grand Challenge was to put the fear of god into their current contractor and show that they could go else ware for technical projects. She also said that it had already achieved this goal and that even if the
I am the lead engineer of the team 'R Junk Works'. Our paper was submitted and approved by DARPA for the Grand Challenge. They then put us in the'Partially Acceptable' category just after approval. This was no big deal for us as we had our prototype vehicle already built for testing. Their 'Site Visit' seemed like just another hoop to jump through before entering the race. The only three people on our team have worked at the 'Lockheed Martin Skunk Works', so our little group is the spin offs - or the 'Junk Works'. We are also in Palmdale California. The four site visitors/inspectors arrived at my garage on the 5th of December to inspect our progress. They road around in our test vehicle that had integrated DGPS, INU and Vision systems running under LINUX Fedora Core 1.0 installed in my personal 1998 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. They let it slip that this was a 'first for them' to be riding around in one of the contestant vehicles. They road around in the desert next to my house here in Palmdale along a pre programmed course that took them down dirt desert roads and washes here in the Mojave Desert - only a few mile away from where they are going to have the actual race. They had other inspectors jump in front of our vehicle and watched how it avoided them by driving around them. They watched with amazement as our vehicle raced along in excess of 35 mph across the rutty desert roads. Almost everything worked perfectly for the demo except our main vision system camera had been damaged the day before and we were using our backup camera that was having intermittent problems, but did not take away from the totality of the demo. It was probably one of the best demos I have ever given in my entire professional life. I could tell, if I could summarize their attitude of the demo, it would be that they were amazed, enthused and eating out of our hands when it was over. They also let it somewhat slip that we were the farthest along that they had seen yet! Well, after the demo, we assumed that it was inevitable that we would be selected for one of the six slots left. No joy ? they called us on December 17th (my birthday) and told us that we were not selected to participate. The reason we gave was that we did not as yet have a race vehicle. This was their own doing, as once our vehicle sponsor got wind that we were not 'Totally Acceptable', they backed out and were waiting for our team to be on the 'Totally Acceptable' list before donating the actual race vehicle. We even supplied statements of sponsorship from that sponsor = they obviously did not read them = OR = perhaps there was another incentive. After talking to a guy called 'Dan' who is the editor of a national magazine and good friend of mine, he also went to the 'Kick Off' for the Grand Challenge that DARPA had in LA last year. He was able to 'Liquor Up' one of the DARPA legal reps, and SHE intimated that the reason they were holding the Grand Challenge was to put the fear of god into their current contractor and show that they could go else ware for technical projects. She also said that it had already achieved this goal and that even if the GC was never to happen, that they would have already achieved this philosophical goal. Anyway, I admit, what I have said is but the ranting of a sour disgruntled looser. But now, you know 'The rest of the story' from my tainted eyes.
Slashdot Mirror
I completely and utterly agree with everyones previous posts of healthy skepticism. I do indeed sound, heck, I freely admit that I AM whining like a little wimp. I am a bitter grump and whining about how unfare life has been to me. Well, not THAT unfair, but I can still complain as it is my personal way of healing. To me, everything I have said is fact. But at the same time, I can see how it looks from the outside looking in. I question my sanity all the time and can only arrive at what I feel is my own personal truth about what happened. Having said that, in the form of PROOF, I really have none. I can say is that we recently purchased the domain name RJUNKWORKS.COM and you may soon be able to look for a set of web pages showing our designs. The page I have refered to is but one part of our up and coming web site. Currently, the only pictures on the web of our design can be found at: www.tkwood.com and clicking on the CHRISTMAS LETTER, 2003 link at the bottom. There, at the bottom of our yearly family xmas letter are some pictures of the truck with the computers on board. Yes, not much to look at, but all I have right now until our web pages are completed on the 14th of this month. Along with many web pages, we will also be publishing our old technical paper at that time so you may read it for yourself. Please, enjoy and determine for yourself if it even sounds feasible or if I am just a crazy whining crank (a distinct possibility). If any of you are still interested at that point, read about our teams OPEN CHALLENGE at our web site. (Note to myself: Somehow - I think this is OPEN CHALLENGE thing is going to wind up a total mess!) Furthermore, I can also send you a copy of the TV interview of our team from German TV (you will have to get a translator to understand it if you do not speak German). Still, you can always say: But none of that stuff proves anything. You are right! As the saying goes: You have to have been there and seen things from my tainted (whining) eyes.
Looks like all teams will require an alleged Site Visit in order to participate in this next Grand Challenge. Last time, their PreChosen Few did not need to have a site visit. As a result, you can see what happened! The newer rules will still allow them to game it any way they really want to. Actually, after reading the newer rules, it looks like it will be easier for them to refuse teams for non technical reasons. Before, they had to explain exactly why the teams technical papers did not pass their muster. Now, all they have to do is not like any teams Video Presentation in order to disqualify them! They will not even have to give a a reason why they were not chosen like they had to before! The implied answer is that they did not like your video for some reason. What once was a technical challenge has now turned into which teams are able to produce the slickest and flashiest video of their alleged race vehicle. Something tells me that technical challenge was never the case. Rest assured, they are not going to like our teams video for some, as yet, unknown or dreamed up reason even though we already fulfill and surpass the current GC requirements. We shall all see.
Read this older post. I think it speaks for itself. One wonders how many teams they will let in this time around? Or, is this going to be the same-old same-old?
I was the lead engineer of the Grand Challenge team 'R Junk Works'. Our paper was submitted and approved by DARPA for the Grand Challenge. They then put us in the 'Partially Acceptable' category just after approval. This was no big deal for us as we already had our prototype vehicle built and were testing it in October of 2003 before we submitted our Technical Paper. Their 'Site Visit' seemed like just another hoop to jump through before being in the race. There are only three people on our team, and we all have worked in one form or another for the 'Lockheed Martin Skunk Works', so our little group we called the spin offs - or the 'R Junk Works'. We are also located in Palmdale California. In retrospect, perhaps it was our team name that gave DARPA hesitation. Heaven forbid that only three guys in a garage in Palmdale with a name like ours win their Grand Challenge! Anyway, the four DARPA site visitors/inspectors arrived at my garage on the 5th of December to inspect our progress. They road around in our test vehicle that had: Integrated DGPS, LN200INU and V4L2 Vision systems running under LINUX Fedora Core 1.0 all installed and functional in my personal 1998 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. They let it slip that this was a 'first for them' to be riding around in one of the contestants vehicles. They road around in the drivers seat around the desert next to my house here in Palmdale along a pre programmed course that took them down dirt desert roads and washes here in the Mojave Desert - only a few mile away from where they are going to have the actual race. Members of this inspection team jump in front of our vehicle as it was traversing the pre programmed course and watched how it avoided them by driving around them and continuing down the course. They watched with amazement as our vehicle raced along in excess of 35 mph across the rutty Mojave Desert roads. Almost everything worked perfectly for the demo except our main vision system camera had been damaged the day before and we were using our backup camera that was having intermittent problems, but did not take away from the totality of the demo. It was probably one of the best demos I have ever given in my entire professional life. If I could summarize their attitude of the demonstration, it would be that they were amazed, enthused and excited over our participation in the Grand Challenge. They also let it somewhat slip that we were the farthest along team that they had seen as yet! I tend to think that the inspection team was 'On our side' as possible contestants. After the demo, we assumed that it was inevitable that we would be selected for one of the remaining six contestant slots left. This was far from the case. They called us on December 17th (my birthday) and told us that we were not selected to participate. One of the inspection team members said: 'After a much heated discussion amongst the DARPA Program Director and our inspection team, I have been told to tell you that you were not selected to participate in the Grand Challenge.' The transparent reason they gave us was that our team did not, as yet, have an actual 'race vehicle'. A very trivial problem for us when it comes right down to it. This was by their very own undoing, as once our vehicle sponsors got wind that we were not in the 'Totally Acceptable' list; they backed out and were waiting for our team to be on that list before donating our actual race vehicle. We even supplied statements of sponsorship from that sponsor = they obviously did not read them = OR = perhaps there was another incentive. After talking to a guy called 'Dan' who is the editor of a national magazine and good friend of mine, he also went to the 'Kick Off' for the Grand Challenge that DARPA had in LA last year. He was able to 'Liquor Up' one of the DARPA legal reps, and SHE intimated that the reason they were holding the Grand Challenge was to put the fear of god into their current contractor and show that they could go else ware for technical projects. She also said that it had already achieved this goal and that even if the
I am the lead engineer of the team 'R Junk Works'. Our paper was submitted and approved by DARPA for the Grand Challenge. They then put us in the'Partially Acceptable' category just after approval. This was no big deal for us as we had our prototype vehicle already built for testing. Their 'Site Visit' seemed like just another hoop to jump through before entering the race. The only three people on our team have worked at the 'Lockheed Martin Skunk Works', so our little group is the spin offs - or the 'Junk Works'. We are also in Palmdale California. The four site visitors/inspectors arrived at my garage on the 5th of December to inspect our progress. They road around in our test vehicle that had integrated DGPS, INU and Vision systems running under LINUX Fedora Core 1.0 installed in my personal 1998 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. They let it slip that this was a 'first for them' to be riding around in one of the contestant vehicles. They road around in the desert next to my house here in Palmdale along a pre programmed course that took them down dirt desert roads and washes here in the Mojave Desert - only a few mile away from where they are going to have the actual race. They had other inspectors jump in front of our vehicle and watched how it avoided them by driving around them. They watched with amazement as our vehicle raced along in excess of 35 mph across the rutty desert roads. Almost everything worked perfectly for the demo except our main vision system camera had been damaged the day before and we were using our backup camera that was having intermittent problems, but did not take away from the totality of the demo. It was probably one of the best demos I have ever given in my entire professional life. I could tell, if I could summarize their attitude of the demo, it would be that they were amazed, enthused and eating out of our hands when it was over. They also let it somewhat slip that we were the farthest along that they had seen yet! Well, after the demo, we assumed that it was inevitable that we would be selected for one of the six slots left. No joy ? they called us on December 17th (my birthday) and told us that we were not selected to participate. The reason we gave was that we did not as yet have a race vehicle. This was their own doing, as once our vehicle sponsor got wind that we were not 'Totally Acceptable', they backed out and were waiting for our team to be on the 'Totally Acceptable' list before donating the actual race vehicle. We even supplied statements of sponsorship from that sponsor = they obviously did not read them = OR = perhaps there was another incentive. After talking to a guy called 'Dan' who is the editor of a national magazine and good friend of mine, he also went to the 'Kick Off' for the Grand Challenge that DARPA had in LA last year. He was able to 'Liquor Up' one of the DARPA legal reps, and SHE intimated that the reason they were holding the Grand Challenge was to put the fear of god into their current contractor and show that they could go else ware for technical projects. She also said that it had already achieved this goal and that even if the GC was never to happen, that they would have already achieved this philosophical goal. Anyway, I admit, what I have said is but the ranting of a sour disgruntled looser. But now, you know 'The rest of the story' from my tainted eyes.