Carnegie Mellon's Racing Robots Complete DARPA Grand Challenge

Winner Still to be Determined

Sandstorm

H1ghlander

Carnegie Mellon's autonomous robotic racers, Sandstorm and H1ghlander, successfully completed the $2 million DARPA Grand Challenge, a 131.6-mile race through the Mojave Desert in Nevada held Saturday, Oct. 8.

Sandstorm and H1ghlander were among only three of the 23 finalists to complete the course as of a 5 p.m. (PDT) DARPA press conference in Primm, Nevada, where officials said race results and the winner would not be announced until sometime Sunday, Oct. 9. Two robots were still on the course at the time of the press briefing.

"We have a winner, we just don't know who it is," said DARPA Director Tony Tether.

Sandstorm crosses the finish line.

The Grand Challenge is a time-elapsed event and therefore the first robot to cross the finish line is not necessarily the winner. Each robot started the race at different times. The winning robot will be determined based on the actual running time it took to complete the course.

H1ghlander earned the first starting position with stellar performances in the semifinals, and Sandstorm started in the third spot. Stanford University, whose robot crossed the finish line first, was the only other robot to finish the course as of the DARPA press conference. Stanford held the number two starting position.

The team whose vehicle is ultimately determined to be the winner will receive a check for $2 million from DARPA.

For more information on Sandstorm, H1ghlander and the Red Team, visit http://www.redteamracing.org

For more on the Grand Challenge, visit http://www.grandchallenge.org/

Anne Watzman
October 8, 2005