Grand Challenge 2005

The race for vehicles without drivers took place in October for the second time in the USA. Austrian technologies were well represented there.

In autonomously steered vehicles sensors and computer systems replace the drivers for analyzing the surrounding environment. In the final of the Grand Challenge, the motor race without drivers in the Californian Mojave desert, the twenty best vehicles started against each other.

 

Facts about the team
Team name	SciAutonics-Auburn
Vehicle name	Robust Autonomous Sensor-Controlled All-Terrain Land-Vehicle (RASCAL)

Facts about the Grand Challenge
Date	8. October 2005
Vehicle control	autonomous (no driver, no remote control)
Distance	240 km
Time limit	10 hours
Terrain	Dirt roads and off-road
Route information	Released 2 hours before the start

The Smart Systems research team of thet Information Technologies Division from ARC Seibersdorf research GmbH developed intelligent eyes in the form of an embedded Stereo vision sensor for the vehicle of the SciAutonics team. Two cameras supply pictures, the on-board electronics process them in real time. Advanced Computer Vision GmbH - ACV, strategic development partner of Smart Systems supplied software algorithms for obstacle recognition by the sensor. In this way obstacles or moving objects can be recognized and avoided. The vehicle must react to these quickly, in order not to fall off a cliff or in a pit. Apart from the eyes of the vehicle, additional sensors such as laser scanners for scanning the ground supplied important data for the vehicle controller.

The use of the pictures on this site for editorial purposes is free as long as the copyright (ARC Seibersdorf research GmbH) is referred to.