The winners were decided based on ability to steer safely around an abandoned military base, traveling autonomously for 6 hours and 60 miles. A sports utility vehicle nicknamed "Boss", developed at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, won the $2M first prize. Stanford University, which won the 2005 race, came in second and Virginia Tech was third. Only 6 of 11 finalists finished the course.

$3.5 million in prizes were offered to jumpstart robotics developers and help fulfill the official US "mandate" that one-third of all military vehicles be unmanned by 2015.

The race really showed how far away that goal still is: At one point, two robotic SUVs collided. Another mistook a driveway for a road. One came within inches of plowing into a concrete pillar and had to be taken off the course.

Taken together, all of these imperfections prove that the dream of a totally driverless fleet of military vehicles is still too technically complex. But what DARPA's race really demonstrated is that robotic driving technology is ready to work together with human drivers - not replace them.

'Aggressive but safe' SUV wins robotic street race

A Land Rover That Drives Itself

Riding With Robots 2.0

Return to the TOP