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$1 Million DARPA Grand Challenge Announces Proposed
Route for Autonomous Robotic Ground Vehicle Challenge
Defense Department Agency Submits Applications to
California & Nevada
for 2004 event between Los Angeles and Las Vegas
LOS ANGELES (June 18, 2003)-- Organizers of the autonomous robotic ground vehicle challenge planned next year by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) have submitted applications to the California and Nevada Bureaus of Land Management seeking approval for three possible routes that start in Barstow, Calif., pass through Primm, Nev., and finish in Las Vegas.
Scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2004, the DARPA Grand Challenge for autonomous robotic ground vehicles will cover a course of approximately 250 miles, and the team that most quickly completes the route in less than the prescribed time will receive a cash prize of $1 million. This challenge is intended to spur the accelerated development of autonomous robotic ground vehicle technology for military applications, and is the first in a series of Grand Challenges planned by DARPA.
The top priority during the initial planning stages of the event has been to develop the route, which will include a combination of off- and on-road terrain that will be cleared of pedestrians and non-competing vehicles.
DARPA has been working closely with the appropriate federal, state and local authorities since the beginning of the year to gain the necessary permits to finalize the route. To help develop the route, DARPA is drawing on the expertise of Sal Fish, CEO/President of SCORE International, which has more than 30 years of experience successfully planning desert racing events in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Arizona and Mexico.
"We have identified several options for routes between Los Angeles and Las Vegas that are feasible and meet all of the necessary regulations," said Col. Jose Negron, the project manager for the DARPA Grand Challenge who is leading route development efforts along with Fish.
"When our work is complete, we will emerge with a route that not only will be safe and avoid environmentally protected areas, but also will make it an interesting challenge," added Fish.
Each of the possible DARPA Grand Challenge routes in the Barstow/Primm/Las Vegas corridor has been carefully selected to be safe and to mitigate impacts on citizens and the environment while still offering participants a significant challenge. The exact route will not be announced until two hours prior to the start of the DARPA Grand Challenge.
All vehicles are required to have emergency stop capability, and the day before the event (Friday, March 12, 2004), they must undergo a safety inspection along with a special qualifying run at the California Motor Speedway in Fontana. Control vehicles also will be present along the entire route to ensure maximum safety and minimal environmental impact. As of June 16, 2003, 25 teams had submitted applications to enter the Grand Challenge.
DARPA is the central research and development organization for DoD.
The Agency manages and directs basic and applied research and development projects for DoD, and pursues research and technology where the risk and payoff are both very high and where success may provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions. The DARPA Grand Challenge web site www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge serves as the gateway for updates on the event and a discussion forum for participants and interested observers.
SCORE International, based in Los Angeles, produces the six-race SCORE Desert Series. Round 4 will be the 2nd SCORE Henderson's Terrible 250 desert race, to be held July 9-12. With nearly 150 vehicles competing in 17 classes for cars and trucks, pre-race activities will be held in Henderson, Nev., and the race will start and finish in nearby Boulder City, Nev.
For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official Optima SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com
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