'Junior' competes for spot in Urban Challenge
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is scheduled Aug. 10 to announce whether the Stanford Racing Team's "Junior," a robot car, made the cut to the next round of the agency's Urban Challenge, a competition in which computer-driven automobiles aim to complete missions in a simulated city environment. Stanford's Sebastian Thrun, an associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering, and Mike Montemerlo, a senior research engineer in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab, are the Racing Team's leaders. Junior is a 2006 Passat wagon whose steering, throttle and brakes all have been modified by engineers at the Volkswagen of America Electronics Research Lab in Palo Alto to be completely computer-controllable. The car was recently evaluated by DARPA officials as it successfully completed a course near Shoreline Park, stopping at intersections, waiting for cars, doing U-turns and driving around parked cars. Stanford Racing Team won a competition two years ago with "Stanley," a robot car that finished a course through desert terrain.
Share This Story