Ah, the elusive dream of the self-driven car. Brilliant roboticists have tried and tried but, thus far, they’ve yet to design a car that won’t burst into flames, screech to a halt and back cautiously away from small bushes, or become hopelessly confused at busy intersections (the cars use sensors to navigate terrain).
The dream is coming alive once again as teams of experts prepare to try their hand (har har) at driverless driving at the Darpa Grand Challenge National Qualifying Event in late October. The last Darpa challenge saw five vehicles pass the finish line (a first), with Stanford's Stanley taking home the $2 million prize.
As the new competitors go public, Stanford’s plucky Junior has emerged as the next Great Self-Driving Car Hope. But what Junior must accomplish is formidable: for this round, called the Urban Challenge, entrants will try to navigate a mock city, replete with traffic, intersections, and obstacles.
What does this mean for the Underwire? Junior, if successful, would bring us one big step closer to owning a real, functional KITT, the 48th best robot ever. The Hoff's special Knight Rider charm? That, between the hair and the jeans-that-look-like-tights, will be far more difficult to realize.
