Desert wins the race of robot cars

None of the robot vehicles reach the finish line in a DARPA-sponsored race in the desert that offered a $1 million prize to the winner.

The story "Desert wins the race of robot cars" published March 13, 2004 at 8:36 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

Content from Reuters expires after 30 days.

Why did they even do this, military has tech..

So, my question is why did they even has this race? The military already owns about 10 Humvees loaded with infrared eyes and has been driving back streets that you and I drive on. No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, it's just a true fact of life. These vehicles exist. Is the military looking for a better vehicle? That I could understand. But, why try to re-invent the wheel? Of what I saw of these souped up Humvees, the technology is quite impressive. The infrared scanners recognize stop signs, other cars. I guess the need for an upgrade is the fact that the systems the military's vehicle rely heavily upon lines in the road as guidance.

Good strategies by the US Military

The design, development and deployment of driverless vehicles are good strategies by the US Military - in that, how do we know that other advanced nations around the world do not now have similar programs; secondly, as the intent is to "one day carry water, fuel and other supplies to the U.S. military during a conflict"; these efforts should be extended to an all-terrain strategy - sea (riverine and swampy areas), air, land (jungle and mountainous territories) and outer-space (for the recovery of mankind and other resources. Can we rule out military conflicts in outer-space in the future - Aliens or otherwise?