Almost less than four weeks before Thanksgiving, the Department of Defense (DOD) sponsored a robot car race. The winning robot car was an overly-accessorized Chevrolet Tahoe sports utility vehicle (SUV) with a brain of its own and the ability to drive itself on various roads and terrains.
Suffice to say, this robot SUV, unlike most of the other SUV cases I have handled, is clearly not a lemon. …At least not yet.
The vehicle was able to drive on its own without human intervention for approximately six hours for sixty miles. I must say, I am thoroughly impressed, because my recent road trip from Dallas to Houston, Texas was only 4 hours and it was quite a long and stressful drive. Having an affordable consumer friendly robot car that takes you to your desired destinations might be such a far-fetched notion any longer.
The vehicle, named “Boss” and designed by the folks from Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburg, has been described as a super soccer mom because it “has a place to be — aggressive but safe.”
The competition is held annually and the prize for winning the competition is 2 million dollars. For more information, go here.