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Urban Challenge 2007
Driverless Race
TARTAN RACING WINS $2 MILLION PRIZE FOR DARPA URBAN
CHALLENGE
Stanford
Racing Wins $1 Million Second Prize, Victor Tango Wins $500,000 Third
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The Urban Challenge prize winners competed as part of a field of 11
finalists that was selected from 35 semifinalists that competed in the
National Qualification Event (NQE) prior to the final event.
Semifinalists were selected from the original field of 89
competitors. The NQE and the main event took place
October 26 to November 3 at the former George Air Force Base in
Vehicles that competed in the Urban Challenge were
required to operate entirely autonomously, without human intervention,
as they obeyed
“The urban setting added considerable complexity to the conditions faced by the vehicles, and was significantly more difficult than the fixed desert courses featured in the first two Grand Challenges,” added Urban Challenge Program Manager Dr. Norman Whitaker. “Tartan Racing, Stanford Racing, and Victor Tango all did a great job getting their vehicles to navigate the course quickly and safely despite the challenging conditions.” The Stanford Racing Team made history in 2005 as it won the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Grand Challenge to be the first ever to complete the challenge to build a totally autonomous vehicle. "Stanley" - Stanford's robotic VW traversed 132 miles of desert southwest of Las Vegas October 8, 2005 with the quickest time, 6:53:58. In the first Grand Challenge no vehicle finished. That year four other cars of the 23 that ran finished. Carnegie Mellon's Team took 2nd and 3rd with it's "Standstorm" Humvee (VIDEO), followed by "H1ghlander" (VIDEO).
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Government Sites for Future CarsPartnership for a New Generation of VehiclesU.S. Council for Automotive Research ZEV & LEV - Zero/Low Emission Vehicle Program - California
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"Car of the Future," by Josephine Cooper, President and CEO of the Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers. Smart Cars May Distract Drivers
Advanced Vehicle Technologies: Energy,
Environment, & Development Issues (PDF) ____________________________ GM's Future Car
The Volt will still have an on-board gasoline/E85 combustion engine. Only in the Volt, this engine is the smaller one, and has only one task, it charges the battery pack when the stored power gets low. The motor is not connected to the wheels, it is only a generator. The brilliance of this feature is that you will have an overall driving range of 600-700 miles, greater than most gas cars now. The efficiency of this motor amounts to about 50 mpg, for each gallon you use to charge the batteries. The old EV-1 did not have this function. All the technology for the car is here today, except for the battery pack. It will use lithium-ion (li-ion) technology. Current hybrids use nickel-metal hydride (NiMh), which carry much less energy per unit weight. To get the power needed for the Volt they would weigh nearly a ton. There are companies working with GM and trying to get these Li-ion batteries and their packs ready for automotive use. For more detailed vehicle specifications, click here.
Electronics Driving Auto Changes California Fuel Cell Partnership
Future Tires? Video, article from NBC Nightly News includes track testing. |
