DARPA Grand Challenge
Overview
The DARPA Grand Challenge is a competition sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense. The competition is focused on the development of autonomous vehicles capable of navigating a course without human intervention. The challenge was first held in 2004 and has since been held in various forms, with the most recent iteration taking place in 2018.
History
The DARPA Grand Challenge was created in response to a Congressional mandate in 2001, with the aim of accelerating research and development in autonomous ground vehicles that could be used in military applications. The first Grand Challenge took place in 2004, but none of the entrants were able to complete the course. The following year, in 2005, five vehicles successfully completed the course, with the team from Stanford University emerging as the winners.
Format
The format of the DARPA Grand Challenge has evolved over the years. In the initial challenges, teams were required to navigate a course in the desert. However, in later iterations, the challenge has involved urban environments, with vehicles required to obey traffic laws and navigate intersections and roundabouts. The most recent challenge, held in 2018, involved navigating a complex urban environment with the added complexity of having to interact with other autonomous vehicles and human-driven vehicles.
Impact
The DARPA Grand Challenge has had a significant impact on the field of autonomous vehicle technology. Many of the technologies developed for the challenge have found their way into commercial autonomous vehicles. Moreover, the challenge has spurred a great deal of research in related fields, such as machine learning, computer vision, and robotics.