[nfb-talk] A Vehicle That Would Drive It Self

[Michael Bullis]

>From today's Washington Post.
 
 
A Vehicle That Would Drive Itself By:Warren Brown The U.S. military,
bedeviled by improvised explosive devices and other deadly ordnance deployed
against
troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been looking for ways to move supplies
in urban combat zones without unnecessarily exposing soldiers to harm. 
 
In pursuit of that goal, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the
government group responsible for bringing forth new military tools, has
launched
a national campaign to develop autonomous driving technology -- essentially
trucks and other wheeled carriers that can move supplies from one point to
another sans human drivers . . . and without humans operating remote control
devices. The vehicles under development must also be able to identify and
maneuver around obstacles, safely go around curves and corners, stop and go
when appropriate, and self-park. It seems an impossible order to fill. But
36 advanced automotive technology teams, drawn from industry and higher
education and combinations thereof, are hoping to prove to DARPA that they
have
the right stuff to carry out the autonomous driving mission. The teams,
including one involving General Motors and Carnegie Mellon University, are
participants
in the DARPA Urban Challenge, a robotic vehicle race that will be held
Saturday at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, Calif. National
qualification
trials for the race are being held at the same place this weekend.
Competitive vehicles will have to navigate safely through a 60-mile urban
area course,
replete with merging traffic, stop signs and busy intersections, in six
hours or less. But it is not a contest in which the fastest team necessarily
wins,
said DARPA Director Tony Tether. He said the winner, assuming there is one,
will be the team with the best overall performance. Put another way, the
winning
vehicle will have to behave as well as a driver-education student trying to
ace the driver's test, said Larry Burns, GM's vice president for research
and
development and strategic planning. That means it will have to obey traffic
signs, follow the rules of the road," all without a human driver or
human-operated
remote control, Burns said. I'm excited about this project, more excited
about it than almost anything we've done," said Burns, who acknowledged the
potential
benefits autonomous driving technology has for the military. But if the
technology proves out and becomes widely used, it could have enormous
environmental
and safety benefits in civilian applications, Burns said. For example,
elements of autonomous driving technology can be employed to improve urban
traffic
flow, thereby reducing traffic congestion and eliminating much of the fuel
waste and air pollution that go along with it. Radar-equipped cars that
automatically
adjust their speeds and space themselves -- allowing a relatively free flow
of traffic through intersections, even without stoplights -- could also
reduce
traffic collisions and all of the pain, suffering and monetary losses caused
by those crashes, Burns said. But he and other proponents of the technology
concede that the military probably is more willing to put autonomously
driven vehicles into use. The dangers in theaters of war are extreme. If
there is
a viable technology that can keep soldiers out of harm's way on supply
missions, the military wants it. Civilian driver psychology is different.
Most people
who love driving love it because they feel in control. Even with the
proliferation of electronic systems designed to make driving safer and
easier, most
drivers loathe the idea of turning their vehicle over to computer chips,
sensors and algorithms. All of those things are involved in the operation of
autonomously
driven vehicles such as GM's Urban Challenge entry, an experimental
Chevrolet Tahoe SUV called the "Boss," in honor of Charles F. "Boss"
Kettering, the
founder of GM's research and development division. The "Boss" features a
compendium of computer controls for driving, radars, lasers and cameras for
situation
assessment. Special computer software has been developed to enable the
vehicle to drive itself. We are actively developing cars that can drive
themselves,
and the DARPA Urban Challenges gives us an excellent opportunity to
demonstrate our progress," Burns said. Even if GM loses in the contest, "we
win," said
Burns, who said GM's autonomous driving technology research so far proves
that newer, more sensibly applied computer technology can lead to a world
"where
there are no crashes and very little traffic congestion." Besides, said
Burns, "I truly believe that somebody will win this contest. Someone will
come
out ahead." And that's good because it will push automotive companies to do
more research, work out the bugs and perfect the technology, Burns said. 

-------------- next part --------------
From today's Washington Post.
 
 
A Vehicle That Would Drive Itself By:Warren Brown The U.S. military, bedeviled by improvised explosive devices and other deadly ordnance deployed against
troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been looking for ways to move supplies in urban combat zones without unnecessarily exposing soldiers to harm.
 
In pursuit of that goal, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the government group responsible for bringing forth new military tools, has launched
a national campaign to develop autonomous driving technology -- essentially trucks and other wheeled carriers that can move supplies from one point to
another sans human drivers . . . and without humans operating remote control devices. The vehicles under development must also be able to identify and
maneuver around obstacles, safely go around curves and corners, stop and go when appropriate, and self-park. It seems an impossible order to fill. But
36 advanced automotive technology teams, drawn from industry and higher education and combinations thereof, are hoping to prove to DARPA that they have
the right stuff to carry out the autonomous driving mission. The teams, including one involving General Motors and Carnegie Mellon University, are participants
in the DARPA Urban Challenge, a robotic vehicle race that will be held Saturday at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, Calif. National qualification
trials for the race are being held at the same place this weekend. Competitive vehicles will have to navigate safely through a 60-mile urban area course,
replete with merging traffic, stop signs and busy intersections, in six hours or less. But it is not a contest in which the fastest team necessarily wins,
said DARPA Director Tony Tether. He said the winner, assuming there is one, will be the team with the best overall performance. Put another way, the winning
vehicle will have to behave as well as a driver-education student trying to ace the driver's test, said Larry Burns, GM's vice president for research and
development and strategic planning. That means it will have to obey traffic signs, follow the rules of the road," all without a human driver or human-operated
remote control, Burns said. I'm excited about this project, more excited about it than almost anything we've done," said Burns, who acknowledged the potential
benefits autonomous driving technology has for the military. But if the technology proves out and becomes widely used, it could have enormous environmental
and safety benefits in civilian applications, Burns said. For example, elements of autonomous driving technology can be employed to improve urban traffic
flow, thereby reducing traffic congestion and eliminating much of the fuel waste and air pollution that go along with it. Radar-equipped cars that automatically
adjust their speeds and space themselves -- allowing a relatively free flow of traffic through intersections, even without stoplights -- could also reduce
traffic collisions and all of the pain, suffering and monetary losses caused by those crashes, Burns said. But he and other proponents of the technology
concede that the military probably is more willing to put autonomously driven vehicles into use. The dangers in theaters of war are extreme. If there is
a viable technology that can keep soldiers out of harm's way on supply missions, the military wants it. Civilian driver psychology is different. Most people
who love driving love it because they feel in control. Even with the proliferation of electronic systems designed to make driving safer and easier, most
drivers loathe the idea of turning their vehicle over to computer chips, sensors and algorithms. All of those things are involved in the operation of autonomously
driven vehicles such as GM's Urban Challenge entry, an experimental Chevrolet Tahoe SUV called the "Boss," in honor of Charles F. "Boss" Kettering, the
founder of GM's research and development division. The "Boss" features a compendium of computer controls for driving, radars, lasers and cameras for situation
assessment. Special computer software has been developed to enable the vehicle to drive itself. We are actively developing cars that can drive themselves,
and the DARPA Urban Challenges gives us an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our progress," Burns said. Even if GM loses in the contest, "we win," said
Burns, who said GM's autonomous driving technology research so far proves that newer, more sensibly applied computer technology can lead to a world "where
there are no crashes and very little traffic congestion." Besides, said Burns, "I truly believe that somebody will win this contest. Someone will come
out ahead." And that's good because it will push automotive companies to do more research, work out the bugs and perfect the technology, Burns said.