National Qualification Event DARPA Grand Challenge (2007)

diagram of qualification area a

the national qualification event 2007 challenge occurred between october 26 , 31, 2007. 35 teams selected participate in semifinal round. qualifying rounds included 3 areas: a, b, , c. area test of robots ability merge. 2-way loop of human traffic (provided professional stunt drivers) surrounded one-way road running 1 side of loop other. robots had go one-way road, make left turn traffic, follow loop 180 degrees, , make left turn onto one-way road again. robots free make many laps in allotted time. area b closed spectators except start , finish, , involved robots navigating long suburban route demonstrating parking, navigation, , avoiding stalled cars along way. area b part of final event course. in area c, robots performed several loops 2 4-way intersections in order test implementation of 4-way stops. each loop, human drivers provide progressively more difficult intersection situation. @ points in area c, roads blocked test robots ability re-plan routes.

on november 1, 2007 announced there 11 teams competing in urban challenge. 11 teams selected compete following:

darpa s reasoning qualifying 11 teams safety-related. darpa felt since there real humans near robots in traffic cars darpa officials scoring robot performance, safety paramount.

teams given sparsely defined waypoints charting course robocars follow. however, other teams generated detailed map of qualifications tracks. debriefing published 1 of teams illustrated graphically course given darpa contrasted against course used winning team.