The U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced that Autonosys of Ottawa will be among the semi-finalists in the Grand Challenge, a 150-mile race across the desert for driverless robotic vehicles.
To advance to the semi-finals, Autonosys had to beat out 195 entries representing teams from around the world.
To pass the first hurdle, teams had to deliver a video of their vehicles to DARPA in March. Based on the videos, DARPA then selected a short list of 118 teams for a visit from DARPA staff in May. At the site visit, the team had to show their vehicle navigating a narrow eight-metre-wide course while avoiding obstacles placed randomly by the DARPA officials.
The Grand Challenge is a competition sponsored by DARPA to design a vehicle that uses onboard computers to drive a previously unknown course for more than 150 miles on desert roads, without a driver or any communication with the outside world, in less than 10 hours. The first vehicle to achieve this goal will receive a prize of $2-million (U.S.).
