News Stanford SUV wins DARPA desert race

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/10/10/stanford_darpa_2005/

 

sweet!

 

wow great by 2015 people will be able to get killed by remote control, how comforting!

 

Until other countries do the same, and war becomes a computer game.

 

I could see stuff like this being used for recon vheicles.
Still pretty awesome as eventually some of the tech is likley to filter through to consumer cars/applications.

 

Wow! I didn't think you could make Hummers look any uglier, but Carnegie-Mellon seems to have succeeded!
It is a cool concept, but I think, as BioSniper says, that it's technology more likely to be used for recon rather than live battle scenarios...how would a computer be able to distinguish between the enemy and civilians?


(You have no idea how difficult it is not to make the obvious joke about that last statement... )

 

dare i say it,

the us funded terrorists will love this, no more suicide bombers driving cars to the target, now the cars will drive themselves.

 

You, and others, have missed the point. They're not remote control, they're autonomous.

 

The main thing they keep mentioning is that they will be used for supply chain duties. A lot easier PR wise just to send a load of vehicles that will be more resilient (no squishy people to kill) through a dangerous zone to the front line.

 

I would think that remote control would be better than autonomous vehicles for most situations, because we are still a long ways off from articifial intelligence that can make decisions as to which way down a road is safer and stuff like that. The only feasible use for autonomous vehicles that I can think of would be, as FredsFriend mentioned, something more mindless, like driving supplies to the front lines.

 

wow they did allot better than last year (I think the record last year was 13miles).

 

I'm impressed that so many made it to the finish line, espeically considering the conditions. That is a long way to drive in the desert without having any technical problems.

It will still be a long time before any of this technology is used in the battlefield, and even longer before it is used in consumer technologies. Even though, I am still looking forward to the day when I can sit down in my car and say "home", then proceed to take a nap or just watch the scenery.

 

There are many benifits to being completely autonomous. Ever wanted to put your car on auto pilot when your on a long trip? Or how about the military applications, when you are in enemy territory radio transmissions are not always possible, and satellite transmissions not always feasible. What if the driver is injured? just get in the car and say 'home'. Or what about if your being chased by a car in the desert, remember star trek? Evasion pattern Alpha, and then you can man the 50 cal while your hummer does all the driving for you.

The applications are only limited by your imagination.

 

That was exactly what happened out in the desert trial, no?

 

I've gone 500 miles in 5 hours driving time...132 miles in 7.5 hours? Don't think I'll be letting a machine drive me anytime soon.