Contact:

Byron Spice                  
412-268-9068                       
In Victorville, Calif.: 412-559-8501               
bspice@cs.cmu.edu                      

Anne Watzman                        
412-268-3830
aw16@andrew.cmu.edu                                                      

Media Advisory: Carnegie Mellon's Tartan
Racing Team To Brief Reporters, Nov. 2

Team Members, Sponsors Will Offer Insights on DARPA Urban Challenge

EVENT: William "Red" Whittaker and members of Carnegie Mellon University's Tartan Racing team will host a media briefing for reporters covering the Nov. 3 DARPA Urban Challenge, a competition between robotic vehicles with a $2 million first prize. Whittaker, the team leader and veteran of two previous DARPA robot competitions, will be joined by representatives of three major team sponsors: Larry Burns, vice president of General Motors Research & Development and Strategic Planning; Tana Utley, vice president and chief technology officer of Caterpillar Inc. and Karl-Thomas Neumann, president of Continental Automotive Systems. Chris Urmson, the team's director of technology, will provide a walk-around tour of Boss, the autonomous 2007 Chevy Tahoe that is Tartan Racing's entry in the event.

WHEN: 2 p.m. (Pacific Time), Friday, Nov. 2.

WHERE: Tartan Racing pit area (pit 306), Southern California Logistics Airport, Victorville, Calif., site of the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.

Note: For information and imagery, visit the Tartan Racing Web site, www.tartanracing.org