Field Set for $2 Million Desert Robot Race

The NaviGATOR, a Grand Challenge entry by Team CIMAR (Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics) a partnership of the University of Florida and Autonomous Solutions, Inc. Credit: Team CIMAR

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Let the battle of the machines begin again. Forty self-navigating robots were chosen Monday to compete in the Oct. 8 sequel to last year's first-ever robot race across the Mojave Desert.

Only half of the semifinalists will qualify for a spot on the starting line, based on how they maneuver -- without human help -- through a series of obstacle courses.

The stakes are higher this time around: Organizers of the Pentagon-sponsored race doubled the prize money to $2 million after none of the 15 contestants finished the rugged desert course last year.

A converted Humvee by Carnegie Mellon University was the best performer last year despite traveling only 7-1/2 miles across the desert before breaking down. The team that designed the Humvee nicknamed Sandstorm is back for another shot with an improved version and is entering a second robot in the competition.

The semifinalists will compete head-to-head at the California Speedway in Fontana in September and October in a series of trials designed to test their self-navigation skills. The robotic vehicles cannot be controlled remotely and must rely on global positioning satellites and various sensors, lasers, radar and cameras to orient themselves and detect and avoid barriers.

Based on the robots' performance, the field will be further whittled down and 20 robots will be chosen to race in October.

The first robot to make it across 150 miles of desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in less than 10 hours wins. The exact course will be revealed two hours before race time.

This year's semifinalists include most of last year's participants vying for a second chance. The teams, which come from 16 states and Canada, include individuals, universities, corporations and a high school. Nearly 200 teams applied for this year's race.

The so-called Grand Challenge contest is sponsored by the research and development arm of the Pentagon known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to foster the development of unmanned vehicles that could be used in combat. The race is part of the Pentagon's efforts to have one-third of all ground vehicles unmanned by 2015.