DARPA Selects MITRE Meteor for 2005 Grand Challenge Semifinals.

MCLEAN, Va. -- The MITRE Meteor was selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to compete in the semifinal event of the DARPA 2005 Grand Challenge. Of the 195 original entries to this year's contest, only 40 teams have been selected to participate in the semifinal National Qualification Event at Fontana, Calif., September 27 to October 5. Ultimately, just 20 teams will compete in the October 8 Grand Challenge over 175 miles of rugged terrain in the southwestern United States.

This is the second year DARPA is sponsoring the race to accelerate the research and development of autonomous ground vehicles. Autonomous vehicles use a combination of artificial intelligence, global positioning systems, and high-tech sensors to drive themselves.

"We are applying our broad technical knowledge and our experience in systems engineering and integration to a particularly tough engineering problem," said David Lehman, senior vice president for information and technology. "Combining the variety of sensor and navigation technologies onboard the Meteor to create a vehicle that can 'think' for itself and travel long distances over rough desert terrain has never been done before," said Lehman. "The Grand Challenge will help us further develop our expertise in an area of growing interest to our sponsors."

The MITRE-sponsored team modified a 2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac with a variety of sensors and computers. In addition to onboard computers, the Sport Trac has stereo vision, a global positioning system (GPS) with two antennas, a special GPS processor, a dual inertial navigation system, four laser range finders, a radar sensor, and electronic interfaces. There are also electrical interfaces for steering, braking, accelerating, and shifting.

"The contest gives the Meteor team members a chance to use what they've learned in previous research projects," said Ann Jones, Meteor team leader and department head for MITRE's Emerging Technology Office. "Our design uses a novel software architecture that combines data from various sensors and a vision system helps keep the Meteor on the road," said Jones. "We're looking forward to see if it can meet the rigors of the Grand Challenge."

The team, called the MITRE Meteorites, represents an independent entry and is composed primarily of MITRE-sponsored staff. Sponsors who have provided equipment, engineering support, and supplies include Electronic Mobility Controls, SuperLift Suspensions, ACTTechnico, Concurrent Technologies, and Hybricon Corporation.

MITRE (www.mitre.org) is a not-for-profit company that provides systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support to the government. It operates federally funded research and development centers for the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, with principal locations in Bedford, Massachusetts, and McLean, Virginia.