Describe what an autonomous vehicle is, and predict some of the challenges the vehicles might face in this Grand Challenge road race.
An autonomous vehicle is one that can drive itself through the use of sensors, algorithms, and basic components of a normal vehicle (engine, transmission, axles, and wheels). My predictions for the challenge is that the vehicles will face hills, uneven terrain, sharp turns, software failure, hardware failure, and other mechanical failures.
How did the teams compare in terms of size, number, and makeup?
The red team was a “well funded army of computer wizards and engineers” (NOVA 2006). It was led by William “Red” Whittaker a former U.S. Marine, and it was funded by Carnegie Mellon University. The Digital Auto …show more content…
Both the Red Team and Team Stanley relied upon laser rangefinders, but Team Stanley allowed their vehicle to determine its own safe speed, where as the Red Team set their vehicle up to run the route as fast a possible. Team DAD and Team Ghostrider were similar in that they had very small crews working on their vehicles, but Team DAD had two team leaders versus just one.
What were the main reasons for each team's success or failure?
The Red Teams failure seemed to stem from how hard they pushed their vehicle. The vehicle itself was unable to sustain the speeds that it started off with. It would appear that the high speeds resulted in a high demand from the sensors, which in turn wore them out faster. The main reason that the Red Team was successful was due to the fact that their laser rangefinders could operate independently of the gimbal mounted laser. The DAD Team suffered a malfunction ¾ of the way through that resulted in a disqualification. Team Terramax did finish the race in last place. Their vehicle was very slow (which explains the last place), but it was also very careful about the way it approached hazardous terrain. Team Ghost rider’s motorcycle could not make it past the trial stages, it’s last attempt ended in failure after it went under the “tunnel”. Team Stanley won the race, even though they were in second place for the majority of it. It would seem that letting the robot pick it’s own pace
An autonomous vehicle is one that can drive itself through the use of sensors, algorithms, and basic components of a normal vehicle (engine, transmission, axles, and wheels). My predictions for the challenge is that the vehicles will face hills, uneven terrain, sharp turns, software failure, hardware failure, and other mechanical failures.
How did the teams compare in terms of size, number, and makeup?
The red team was a “well funded army of computer wizards and engineers” (NOVA 2006). It was led by William “Red” Whittaker a former U.S. Marine, and it was funded by Carnegie Mellon University. The Digital Auto …show more content…
Both the Red Team and Team Stanley relied upon laser rangefinders, but Team Stanley allowed their vehicle to determine its own safe speed, where as the Red Team set their vehicle up to run the route as fast a possible. Team DAD and Team Ghostrider were similar in that they had very small crews working on their vehicles, but Team DAD had two team leaders versus just one.
What were the main reasons for each team's success or failure?
The Red Teams failure seemed to stem from how hard they pushed their vehicle. The vehicle itself was unable to sustain the speeds that it started off with. It would appear that the high speeds resulted in a high demand from the sensors, which in turn wore them out faster. The main reason that the Red Team was successful was due to the fact that their laser rangefinders could operate independently of the gimbal mounted laser. The DAD Team suffered a malfunction ¾ of the way through that resulted in a disqualification. Team Terramax did finish the race in last place. Their vehicle was very slow (which explains the last place), but it was also very careful about the way it approached hazardous terrain. Team Ghost rider’s motorcycle could not make it past the trial stages, it’s last attempt ended in failure after it went under the “tunnel”. Team Stanley won the race, even though they were in second place for the majority of it. It would seem that letting the robot pick it’s own pace