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Vroom to grow for robot cars

A $2-million purse awaits the team whose life-size vehicle wins a Pentagon-sponsored competition.

PRIMM, Nev. - This desert pit stop with a handful of casinos was supposed to be the finish line for a robot race sponsored by the Pentagon last year to spur development of unmanned vehicles for warfare.

Problem was, none of the self-driving entries made it this far.

But today, 23 more robot racers will assemble here at the relocated starting line in a sequel to see if any can crisscross at least 145 miles of rough desert and mountain trails without a human driver or remote control.

The first to cover the course in less than 10 hours will win the $2-million purse of the Grand Challenge.

"We'll say a little prayer and hope for some Irish luck," said Bill Kehaly of Westlake Village, Calif., Axion Racing, which is entering a modified Jeep Grand Cherokee named Spirit.

Last year's inaugural race ended without a winner when all the vehicles broke down on the desert course from Barstow, Calif., to Primm, just across the California state line.

Teams went back to the drawing board to improve the artificial intelligence and sensing systems needed to navigate the rough terrain without crashing. Some participants also tested their entries more rigorously by practicing on last year's course.

"Having that real base to work with allowed the teams to accelerate the technology development. Before that, it was all guesses," said Ron Kurjanowicz, program manager of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.

To further motivate competitors, the agency doubled the taxpayer-funded prize after last year's $1-million offering went unclaimed.

Organizers say they have been impressed by the caliber of vehicles entered in the upcoming race and say there's a good chance a robot racer will actually finish this year in less than 10 hours.

During qualifying trials earlier this week at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Carnegie Mellon University's converted red Hummer called the H1ghlander hit several obstacles but still narrowly defeated Stanford University's Volkswagen SUV to take the pole position.

[Last modified October 8, 2005, 01:27:10]