June 14, 2007 8:10 PM PDT
The Stanford Racing Team shows off its robot car, Junior, to DARPA representatives on Thursday in the first test round for the third edition of the DARPA Grand Challenge, a competition for driverless cars sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. This year's Grand Challenge event, known as the DARPA Urban Challenge, is scheduled for November 3. The Stanford team consists of Stanford University students, faculty and visiting scholars, and outside researchers and consultants.
Junior's position and orientation are estimated using GPS technology, while its position and path on the road are optimized in real time with the help of several sensors. A laser detects and tracks objects around the vehicle.
Photo by Miriam Olsson/CNET News.com
