Can robotic vehicles negotiate an urban landscape?
In 2004 and again in 2005, the Pentagon sponsored a race for driverless vehicles across desert courses. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, dreamed up the Grand Challenge race as a way to advance the science of robotic vehicles for military use.
This year, the race is re-named the DARPA Urban Challenge. At a qualifying race in October, 36 driverless cars will race through Victorville, California. Then in November, the top 20 cars will compete for a two million dollar prize.