We've been taking a close look at many of the vehicles created for various DARPA challenges, and it finally appears as if some of the new technology gained by these trials is trickling down into the real world. For instance, you're likely aware of new technologies such as lane-departure warning and adaptive cruise control which add a touch of safety and a bit less driver control to your daily commute. If you like this idea but want to go all the way, TORC will be offering its autonomous wares for about sixty grand. Also needed will be a donor vehicle, specifically a Ford Escape Hybrid. The company claims that this vehicle makes an excellent starting point due to its on-board batteries, rugged structure and plenty of cargo space. After the cost of the hybrid is accounted for, the total investment in a self-driving car is still less than a hundred grand, which is pretty impressive for such technology.

[Source: CNET]

DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has set a seemingly impossible task, known as the Vulture program, by calling for an aircraft which can remain in the sky for five years while generating five kilowatts of power for a 1,000 pound payload. The Odysseus by Aurora Flight Sciences, which has been selected as one promising design by DARPA, doesn't appear capable of flight at all to many onlookers. The odd Z-shaped wing is actually three separate machines which can change their combined shape in order to catch the suns rays throughout the day and flatten out at night, when the Odysseus would fly on battery power alone. Together, the three sections would span almost 500 feet. Advanced composite materials and double-sided solar panels are employed to make the concept appear possible. If DAPRA's vision proves successful, aerial vehicles like these could take the place of satellites for surveillance and communications purposes.

[Sources: Flight Global, Gizmag]

What would you think if we told you that DARPA is considering a plane that would fly non-stop for 5 years without burning a single drop of fuel? They are, and it's called the Vulture program, which aims to produce an aircraft able to carry a 1,000 pound payload, pump out 5kW of onboard power, and keep up enough speed to withstand the winds it'll encounter at 60,000 to 90,000 feet.

How does DARPA think that the Vulture should be powered? There are currently three options under consideration. The first one is nuclear and - wait, this is not under consideration. The second one is to refuel the aircraft in flight. This favors fuel cells because they are more efficient and reliable than internal-combustion and gas-turbine engines. The other option is solar energy, either solar thermal, which is unproven, or solar electric, which is a proven technology.

[Source: Flight Global via Engadget]

You are probably familiar with the driverless cars that compete in the DARPA challenge. We've shown you some of them in the past. Here is a Prius which is set to compete this year between October 26th and 31st in a qualifying event in Victorville, California. This year, the challenge will be to navigate an urban course, meaning that there will be many obstacles and plenty of tall buildings, power lines, trees and the like to interfere with the machines. Pretty much all of the machines in the competition will be using similar hardware, although bolted and welded to different cars, so it is the software that makes the largest difference.

According to the group who created the autonomous Prius, made up of members from Lehigh University and Penn University, the reason the hybrid was chosen is due to the onboard battery-pack. That battery is capable of powering all of the electronics that are necessary for the competition. Obviously, the inherently good gas mileage of the hybrid is also appreciated. According to team member Alex Steward, "There have been times when no one can remember the last time we filled the gas tank."

Related:

• VW and Stanford University team up for 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge
• Another team set to use Passat TDi for DARPA Urban Challenge

[Source: The Allenton Morning Call]

Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced that its Electronics Research Lab (ERL) and the Stanford University Racing Team will participate together in this year's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge on November 3, 2007 with an autonomously-driven diesel-powered Passat wagon.

The experience is not only set to win the contest but to investigate further applications in production cars. The chosen vehicle for this edition is a an autonomously-driven Passat wagon, named 'Junior' in homage to Leland Stanford Jr., founder of Stanford University. It will compete on a 60-mile mock urban course that involves merging with traffic, crossing traffic circles and negotiating busy intersections while following traffic laws.

Volkswagen of America's ERL helped outfit the fuel-efficient Passat wagon TDI with computer-controlled electromechanical power steering and electric throttle, gear shifter and parking brake. Custom mountings for the wide array of sensors were also designed and built at the ERL. Intel Core 2 Duo processors make up the car's "brains." The Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab added a new software that makes the car fully autonomous.

Volkswagen won the $2 million grand prize at the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge with a diesel powered Touareg named Stanley, on a 132-mile championship race over rough desert roads, mountain trails, dry lake beds and tunnels, using only onboard sensors and navigation equipment.

[Source: WV]

A scientist speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Francisco has predicted robot-driven cars that could drive humans around by the year 2030. Intelligent robot vehicles are likely to be used on battlefields even sooner though predicts Sebastian Thrun, an associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University. Thrun is leading the Standford team again in this year's 60 mile DARPA Urban Challenge (see related post).

Physorg.com reports Thrun as saying, "I think they'll be on the battlefield by around 2015. It is going to make sense to use them in situations such as convoys, or in hostile environments where there is danger to personnel."

Computer aided driving systems are already filtering into luxury cars and fully robotic systems are sure to follow. Autonomous Cruise Control is a good example that is already available on a wide range of both luxury and mainstream car brands. The system utilises radar or lasers to monitor the distance between the car and the vehicle in front and will automatically slow the car down or speed up when required.

Another example of computer aided driving is Adaptive Braking, a technology found in the new 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Adaptive braking includes hill assist and panic brake assist. The hill assist detects when you are starting on a slope and maintains some brake pressure in the calipers when you move your foot to the accelerator until you actually apply the gas, to keep you from rolling back down the hill. The panic brake assist detects when you do a quick brake apply and helps to apply full pressure.

Analysis: Sounds to me like cars in 2030 are going to be a cross between the Terminator and the Maglevs of Minority Report. They'll get you where you want to go quickly, safely and with the highest degree of comfort but wont let other robotic cars cut in front of them in traffic. Hopefully the robotic cars wont rise up against their human masters post-2015 and we'll all get the chance to enjoy being safely chauffeured around circa-2030.

Related:

• Stanford Racing Team building autonomous Passat TDi with DSG gearbox
• Autoblog eBay Find of the Day: future Lexus from Minority Report
• AGB POLL: Best way to spend the DOE's money

[Source: Physorg.com]

We have briefly mentioned the Marine Corps' deep strike, deep reconnaissance hybrid diesel-electric vehicle, the Shadow, in the past. The Shadow is a Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Targeting Vehicle (RST-V), created by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), and has been in development since GDLS was awarded Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) contracts for a new reconnaissance vehicle in 1997.

In 1999, the second phase of the Shadow RST-V program began with GDLS contracted to build four demonstrator vehicles. These were delivered in 2002 and were integrated with mission-specific equipment. Limited User Evaluation took place at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in 2004. In 2005, GDLS was contracted to upgrade the RST-V with a 30kW export power capability generated by the vehicle's hybrid electric drive, designed to power battlefield loads such as the Unit Operations Center and radars. The vehicle was evaluated in an operational environment in early 2006. The Marine Corps and the Army have rigourous testing protocols to ensure that equipment can stand up to the heat of battle and won't let down their troops.

The Shadow RST-V is a 4x4 hybrid diesel-electric drive vehicle with reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting and C3I (command, control, communications and intelligence) capability coupled with integrated stealth and survivability features. It has significantly improved fuel economy and survivability.

At first glance fuel economy wouldn't seem to be a big issue for the U.S. armed forces, after all, if the price of fuel goes up, the armed forces don't have to worry about the bill. But in fact, fuel is a critic issue due to the fact that as Amory Lovins points out, about half the armed forces' money and around a third of their people are involved in logistics. And of that, 70 percent of the tonnage they move is fuel. Even a small increase in fuel economy can result in a big difference to the number of supply line convoys coming under fire.

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