Gear

GM, Carnegie Mellon Team for DARPA Robot Car Race

A self-driving Chevy Tahoe now being built by General Motors, Carnegie Mellon University, and other partners will compete in the DARPA 2007 Urban Challenge competition on 3 November. GM’s robot car will be equipped with radar, lasers, and cameras for "situation assessment." The computer-driven vehicle will have to navigate a 60-mile urban race course in […]

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A self-driving Chevy Tahoe now being built by General Motors, Carnegie Mellon University, and other partners will compete in the DARPA 2007 Urban Challenge competition on 3 November. GM's robot car will be equipped with radar, lasers, and cameras for "situation assessment." The computer-driven vehicle will have to navigate a 60-mile urban race course in less than six hours, contending with stop signs, intersections, and merging traffic with no remote guidance.

GM is presenting its participation in the DARPA race as an opportunity to show its progress in developing self-driving "connected vehicles" for eventual production. Here's Larry Burns, GM vice president of R&D and strategic planning:

Imagine a world where there are no car crashes and very little traffic congestion. This world is close to being proven thanks to the rapid advancement of electronics and communications technology. We are actively developing cars that can drive themselves and the DARPA Urban Challenge provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our progress.

Sponsors include Caterpillar; Continental AG; Intel; Google; Applanix; TeleAtlas; Vector; Ibeo; Mobileye; CarSim; CleanPower Resources; M/A-COM; NetApp; Vector; CANtech; and Hewlett Packard.

[General Motors]