CAVATI Donation Allows Utah Universities to Compete in DARPA Urban Challenge 2007.SALT LAKE CITY -- Unmanned systems technology has taken another step forward in Utah. Last week, the Center for Autonomous Vehicle A passenger vehicle that drives by itself. Also known as the "driverless car," it automatically steers the vehicle by sensing the painted lines in the road or a magnetic monorail embedded in the road. In the late 1990s, prototype systems were built in Italy and the U.S. See automotive systems. Applied Technology and Information (CAVATI[TM]) donated autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) to two different Utah teams competing in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), U.S. government agency administered by the Department of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). (DARPA DARPA: see Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) The name given to the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency during the 1980s. It was later renamed back to ARPA. ) Urban Challenge 2007. A team from Brigham Young University Brigham Young University, at Provo, Utah; Latter-Day Saints; coeducational; opened as an academy in 1875 and became a university in 1903. It is noted for its law and business schools. in Provo, Utah, and another from the University of Utah The University of Utah (also The U or the U of U or the UU), located in Salt Lake City, is the flagship public research university in the state of Utah, and one of 10 institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education. in Salt Lake City each received a 2005 Dodge Caravan (blue and red, respectively) retrofitted with a Pronto pron·to adv. Informal Without delay; quickly. [Spanish, from Latin pr  mptus; see prompt. 4[TM] Universal Unmanned Vehicle Retrofit Kit from Kairos Kairos (καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning the "right or opportune moment". The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. Autonomi[TM], a CAVATI[TM] Founding Member. CAVATI[TM] also donated funds to each university to support software development and the acquisition and integration of sensors for vehicle navigation systems. Both university teams will compete in the Urban Challenge 2007, which will feature AGVs conducting simulated military supply missions in a mock urban area. Safe operation in traffic is essential to U.S. military plans to use AGVs to conduct important missions. Using only their software and sensors, the retrofitted minivans will attempt to navigate the urban area in an unmanned, autonomous mode. The vehicles will be required to autonomously obey traffic laws while merging into moving traffic, negotiate busy intersections and avoid other vehicles, buildings and barriers. "This donation fits perfectly with our mission to move forward unmanned vehicle technology by leveraging industry assets with university resources," said George "Troy" Takach, Jr., Founding Member of CAVATI[TM]. "By helping these two teams compete in the Urban Challenge 2007, CAVATI shows the nation that Utah is a key player in the unmanned systems industry." Donating the vehicles is one part of the State of Utah Unmanned, Autonomous Road Map (SWARM), a CAVATI[TM] initiative designed to foster unmanned systems collaboration among organizations in Utah. Within SWARM, four primary objectives exist to increase unmanned systems business in Utah: bring autonomous vehicle contracts to Utah companies for execution; create a nationally recognized unmanned vehicle test facility; promote legislative initiatives to support AGV AGV Automatic Guided Vehicle AgV Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Verbraucherverbände (Germany: Working Party of the Consumer Associations) AGV Automotrice à Grande Vitesse (French high speed train, successor to the TGV) business and technology; and foster autonomous systems research through Utah universities. CAVATI[TM] has been influential in doubling the number of Utah teams participating in the DARPA Urban Challenge 2007. About CAVATI[TM] The Center for Autonomous Vehicle Applied Technology and Information (CAVATI[TM]) is a non-profit, Utah-based business coalition with a mission to advance unmanned vehicle technology by leveraging industry assets with university resources in the state of Utah. |
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