DARPA Grand Challenge Ends After All Entries Fail to Finish
I just got back from the Mojave Desert. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge today ended with none of the entries able to finish the race. In the end, 15 Entries qualified during the last week to compete for the $1 million prize given to -- not the fastest, but the best entry as judged by DARPA in the 142-mile race across the Mojave Desert. The race was over in about four hours after each entry was shut down by one problem or another.
Teams were given digital maps and GPS "waypoints" on CD two hours before the race began. Each robot was trailed by a truck driven by a professional off-road racer and a passenger representing DARPA, who held a remote gadget for "killing" or "stalling" the vehicle.
The race started at 6:30am when the race favorite, Carnegie Mellon's $3 million Hummer called Sandstorm perfectly exited the starting area and sailed into the desert. Despite the incredible attention given to the vehicles advanced navigation and other electronics, it was done in by its tires, which caught on fire after hitting an obstacle 7.4 miles into the course.
The second longest run was SciAutonicsII, which made it to 6.7 miles before veering into an embankment and becoming stuck.
The breaks on Virginia Tech's golf cart robot locked up a few seconds after starting. It sat there right in front of me with the engine smoking under the strain. Palos Verdes High School's Acura robot, designed by kids who don't even have drivers licenses, crashed into a cement barrier immediately after starting. One turtle-shaped robot got off to an impressive start, but then flipped over onto its side about three hundred yards into the race. A six-wheeled vehicle became entangled in barbed wire and had to be cut free.
Team TerraHawk and the only motorcycle in the race, called the Ghost Rider, scratched at the last minute.
Because nobody finished, DARPA will probably hold another contest in 2006.
Yacht Controller is a $4,495 remote-control box you lash to your wrist, allowing you to drive any motorboat as if it were a Nintendo. The idea is to let you control the boat without being behind the wheel. But, theoretically, you don't even need to be on the boat! (via Gizmodo)
The DARPA Grand Challenge takes place in just two days. I first told you about it more than a year ago, but it was not until this week that the mainstream media really started to cover it.
The Saudi Arabian interior ministry began systematically inspecting gadget shops, hunting for camera phones on sale. The crackdown was launched after it was discovered that -- SHOCK! OUTRAGE!! -- teenage girls were using them to take pictures of each other.
Leaked Spec for Nintendo D5 Reveals Touch Panel, Wi-Fi and 3D Graphics
A document leaked onto the Internet may prove to be a specification for Nintendo's forthcoming DS handheld. If it's not a forgery, gamers can look forward to a gadget with touch panel input, 802.11 wireless LAN and a 3D graphics.
M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Ltd. yesterday launched a ATA hard drive with capacities up to 90 gigabytes. That's a new record for flash-memory capacity. Also a record: the drive costs $40,000.
I told you a week ago about UC Berkeley's robotic exoskeleton that can boost human strength, called the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, or BLEEX. Herecome the videos.
Underwater Wireless Cam Lets You Watch Fish Get Hooked
A company called Fishing-CAM makes underwater wireless cameras that let you watch your lure or hook while fishing. A compatible monitor mounts on your fishing reel so you can view the action. It makes fishing almost as fun as watching TV!
Milestone: Hitachi to Unveil 400-Gigabyte Hard Drive!
Just last week, Hitachi announced an unprecidented 300 gigabyte hard drive. Now they're announcing a 400 gigabyte drive. We're just a year or two away from terabyte hard drives. Your defrag will last a week!
The Indian company Reliance Mobile now offers the $529 Telson TWC 1150, a wristwatch with everything. The gadget has a camera, a monitor for looking at your pictures, cell phone, speakerphone, voice-recognition, touchpad, etc.. It even tells the time.
A robot called the "contour crafter" builds houses of cement in successive layers after being fed the CAD "blueprints." Engineer Behrokh Khoshnevis, of the University of Southern California, plans to test the robot by building a one-story, 2,000-square-foot home in one day without human intervention.
The Register is reporting that Victorinox (the Swiss Army Knife people) and Swissbit (the USB memory people) will unveil at the German computer fair CeBIT next week the ultimate pocket tool for geeks: The USB Swiss Army Knife. It comes in 128 megabyte and 64 megabyte versions.
The world's first autonomouse robot race sponsored by the Pentagon is just three days away! The race is off to a "rocky start," which should remind us that getting a vehicle to navigate and drive by itself is really hard -- and, it should be pointed out -- has never been done. Still, it's going to be a great year for robots.
John Kerry Spokesman Suggests Site Profanity Caused By Virus
A spokesman for Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry suggested to a reporter this week that all this profanity on Kerry's official web site was caused by a virus.
Proof You Can Buy Anything On the Internet: Janet & Justin Super Bowl Dolls
Eight million children unde the age of 11 watched Janet Jackson's Super Bowl breast-baring publicity stunt, and now they're going to want the dolls. You'd better bid now.
A 31-year-old computer gaming addict in China died after playing the online game Saga nonstop for 20 hours at an internet cafe in Chengdu, Sichuan province, according to reports.
Milestone: Toyota's Gas/Electric Hybrid Technology Licensed by Ford
The best gas/electric hybrid car in the world is the Toyota Prius. That same technology has been licensed to Ford. Why? Because an upcoming Ford hybrid called Escape probably infringes on Toyota's patents. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, pay 'em.
Rumored palmOne Tungsten E2 Confirmed By Web Site Error
Brighthand Editor-in-Chief Ed Hardy has revealed that the rumored palmOne gadget Tungsten E2, which has not been announced, appears on a drop-down menu of company products.
'Unreal Tournament'-Based Game Developed to Teach Languages to G.I.s
A PC game based on the popular "Unreal Tournament" is being used to teach American soldiers how to speak foreign languages, such as Arabic. Propellerheads at the University of Southern California, with funding from -- who else? -- DARPA, have been working on the simulation program, which uses virtual reality to put soldiers into situations that help them build language skills. Americans are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages (but we're really good at building and playing computer games!).
The Pentagon's million-dollar robot race is just five days away! Entries include a wide range of vehicles, including the first four-wheel-drive PC I've ever seen (it's really the ultimate case mod...)!
NTT DoCoMo, NEC and Fujitsu have proposed technology that enables 1Gpbs 4G data transfer for mobile phones. Meanwhile, here in Silicon Valley, I can't get a Cingular connection at my house.
A San Diego, California, surgeon recently implanted a new "electronic knee" at the Scripps Clinic Division of Orthopaedic Surgery. The prosthetic gauges pressure exerted on the knee and wirelessly zaps that data to the doctor's computer. The knee contains tranducers, a microtransmitter and an antenna that allow transmission of force measurements into a computer-readable format. Plus, the knee presumably enables the patient to run at 60 MPH.
Korean Mobile Phone Company to Sell Security Robot
SK Telecom today unveiled an $850 security robot made by Mostitech that moves around the house, sampling air for gas leaks, smoke, intruders and other trouble. It takes digital pictures of whatever is happening and sends them to your cell phone. The robot also serves as a nanny for latchkey kids -- it can even read books. It returns to its charger when low on juice. The robot sounds pretty cool, but SK Telecom's product model here doesn't look all that thrilled.
NEWSWEEK will report in its March 15 issue that "powerful software" called "Analysts Notebook," which helps "piece together" criminal and terror data, is helping to increase confidence by the U.S. military that terrorist Osama Bin Laden will soon be captured. Once aprehended, another piece of software, the RealOne Player from RealNetworks, will be used to slowly torture him to death.
Official John Kerry Web Site Riddled With Profanity
The web site of U.S. Democratic hopeful John Kerry is riddled with profanity, according to The Drudge Report. Is Kerry the potty mouth "Howard Stern of the Internet" or is he commendably allowing free speech on his site? Instant prediction: Profane posts will be pulled before the evening news on Monday. "f*ck!," said one Kerry Spokesman, in a statement. Update: My prediction was wrong. The cussing is still there.
Underwater Wireless Cam Lets You Watch Fish Get Hooked
Indians Get Wristwatch Camera Phone
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DARPA Grand Challenge: Five Days Away!
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