Virginia Tech Through To The Semis

Anthony Fontanelle
August 15, 2007

The entry of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is through to the semi-finals of the DARPA Urban Challenge. Virginia Tech’s Victor Tango team recently cleared the hurdles in the ongoing contest sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The challenge for participating teams is to develop a drive-by-wire vehicle that can be used for military purposes.

The team from Virginia Tech is one of the 36 teams selected by the agency to participate in the semis. In the finals, the winning team will receive $2 million. Second prize is $1 million, and for third place finishers, the agency will award $500,000. The qualifying round for the finals will start on the 26thof October and will end on the 31st.

From the 36 teams, 20 will be selected to compete in the finals which will be held on the third of November. The team from Virginia Tech is looking to be one of the twenty that will get through to the finals and have a shot of winning the challenge. The team is composed of engineering and geography students from Virginia Tech.

The semi-final round will be held at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, California. The site was chosen by the agency since its network of urban roads closely resembles the terrain encountered by the country’s armed forces when they are deployed overseas. According to DARPA’s director Tony Tether, “The robotic vehicles will conduct simulated military supply missions at the site.”

During the visit of the competition’s judges at the home of Victor Tango, the vehicle was able to clear the qualifications to get through to the semi-finals. The vehicle was tasked to navigate a road course without a driver behind the steering wheel. During the tests, the reaction of the intelligent vehicle regarding the motion of other vehicles which are driven by human is evaluated.

Although the technology used by the Victor Tango team can be used on road bound cars like the now-defunct Acura Legend with its Acura Legend radiator and other auto parts, it will be very costly to produce. For now, the United States armed forces will be the first to use the technology on theaters around the world.

Due to the fact that no human is needed to drive a vehicle similar to what the team from Virginia Tech developed there would be less risk of having a casualty. The vehicles can be used to deliver emergency supplies to soldiers on urban locations. The United States armed forces will be able to pick the best technology to use on future intelligent vehicles and continue the technology’s development.

Patrick Currier, a mechanical engineering graduate student of Virginia Tech, explains what they are doing with their vehicle they call Odin. “The drive-by-wire system allows the computers to control the throttle, brake, steering, and shifting and to drive the vehicle,” he said. “This system was custom developed by the team and is unique in that it is completely hidden from view, enabling Odin to retain full passenger capabilities.”

Source:  Amazines.com