Team CIMAR Enters Dept of Defense Robot Race: 1st Place, $2 Million.GRAND RAPIDS Grand Rapids, city (1990 pop. 189,126), seat of Kent co., SW central Mich., on the Grand River; inc. 1850. The second largest city in the state, it is a distribution, wholesale, and industrial center for an area that yields fruit, dairy products, farm produce, , Mich. -- This fall, Team CIMAR Ci`mar´ n. 1. See Simar. (Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics) plans to unleash the NaviGATOR, an unmanned robotic vehicle that looks like a cross between a jeep and a swamp buggy Noun 1. swamp buggy - an amphibious vehicle typically having four-wheel drive and a raised body marsh buggy amphibian, amphibious vehicle - a flat-bottomed motor vehicle that can travel on land or water , on 175 miles of uncharted terrain near Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. , Nev. The team held a successful NaviGATOR demonstration today at the University of Florida University of Florida is the third-largest university in the United States, with 50,912 students (as of Fall 2006) and has the eighth-largest budget (nearly $1.9 billion per year). UF is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. Plant Science Unit in Citra, Florida Citra is an unincorporated town in Marion County, Florida. It is the home of the pineapple orange.[1] The town has two buildings on the National Register of Historic Places: The Citra Methodist Episcopal Church and the Armstrong House. . Team CIMAR's title sponsor is Smiths Aerospace. The team is applying for the second annual DARPA Grand Challenge The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for driverless cars, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the central research organization of the United States Department of Defense. , sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. The objective is to build a robot capable of crossing the terrain without human intervention. The prize is $2 million for the first team to cross the finish line under 10 hours - if anyone does at all. "That's like traveling across the state of Florida," said David Armstrong, CIMAR team leader. "Imagine your car driving itself across Florida." If selected, on Oct. 8, the University of Florida's Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics along with Autonomous Solutions, which builds robots for civilian and military purposes, and the Eigenpoint Co., which creates and maintains robotic and automation systems, will travel to Los Angeles to compete in their second DARPA Grand Challenge. The event is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency Defense Advanced Research Project Agency - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency , the central research and development organization for the U.S. Department of Defense. One hundred and ninety five teams applied to enter the competition, but only 40 will be chosen to compete in the qualifying event at the California Speedway. Twenty will go on to compete in the main event. The purpose of the race is to encourage robotic engineers, such as the members of Team CIMAR, to develop "autonomous" technology that will one day be capable of operating unmanned military vehicles in areas too remote or dangerous for human operators, according to the DARPA Grand Challenge Web site. Team CIMAR's title sponsor is Grand Rapids-based Smiths Aerospace, a leading global provider of innovative solutions to builders and operators of military aircraft, vehicles & systems, civil aircraft and engines. Other sponsors include the UF College of Engineering, Autonomous Solutions, The Eigenpoint Company, NavCom Technology, Animatics, Hy-Impact Signs, Georgia All Terrain Monsters, Preco Electronics, Compass Systems, Formation Inc., Leece Neville, Digi-Key Corp, UF Plant Science Unit, and Safe Software. "We encourage young engineering students to be involved in innovative projects. We are pleased to sponsor the University of Florida's team. This is a perfect example of involvement at the right level to motivate students to pursue engineering degrees," commented Dave Miller, Vice President/General Manager of Smiths Aerospace in Grand Rapids, Michigan “Grand Rapids” redirects here. For other uses, see Grand Rapids (disambiguation). Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 197,800. . Team CIMAR, which placed eighth out of 106 teams last year, is poised for a better performance this year, Armstrong said. "Last year was just a practice run," he said. "This year we are building a much smarter, more capable machine. We are positioning ourselves to win." |
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