It’s apparently Revenge of the Nerds time at NC State. While the jocks crash and burn, some über-techs of NC State’s College of Engineering have taken up the torch. According to this article posted today on tech blog Engadget, a group of State students are working with Insight Technologies, Inc. and Lotus to produce a super sexy entry in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, a race consisting only of autonomous vehicles. For those of you (ok, us) who are not hip to it, DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency… and yes, that frightens the crap out of me too. Apparently it is “the central research organization of the United States Department of Defense.” Again, scary…
I spent a little while researching this competition because even my nerdy little mind wasn’t ready to accept the true definition of the word “autonomous.” But, as it turns out, the geeks who defined this thing also have decent vocabulary skills. These vehicles are required to navigate a simulated urban environment with no input from humans. Yep. That’s right. No humans. And here we all have been totally spellbound and skeptical of those “self-parking” cars. I don’t know about you, but hell if I’m going to let my $65,000 Lexus LS park its damn self (if I actually had a $65,000 Lexus LS!). I love and trust computers more than I should already…
Just take a gander at the technical FAQ document to read things like:
C.23. What type of paint will be used for lane markings? What condition will the markings be in?
The paint used for lane markings has not been specified, as correct vehicle operation must be robust to variations in marking type and quality. Vehicles must contend with lane markings that are damaged, incomplete, or of varying quality.
No, I didn’t make this up. And yes, it makes my brain hurt too.
This competition doesn’t actually occur until next November… which means State fans have quite a bit more pain to endure before potentially feeling the sweet sensation of success. (Spoken like a true Wahoo! And don’t worry, I’m hurtin’ right there with ya!)
