It all started with an article that was posted on the Northrop Grumman internal Web Site describing our sponsored entry in a Grand Challenge race across the desert, an unmanned vehicle named the Terra Hawk. I copied and forwarded the piece to Off-Road.Com because I knew their interest in all things off-road. I was asked if I would be interested in covering the event for ORC. Knowing a great opportunity when I see it, I jumped at the chance to see this technology in action.

Cal Tech team works a last minute problem. (Photo by Michael Hernandez.)	Software fixes are as important as hardware (Photo by Michael Hernandez.)

Competitors Gather

Because of extremely short time available (~9 months from competition announcement to race date) and funding limitations (you had to secure your own), most entrants had decided to base their approach on a tried and proven off-road chassis, and spend the bulk of their effort on the guidance system. The one exception to this approach was Team Terra Hawk, which chose to build a vehicle from the ground up, but with a slightly less sophisticated guidance system.

DARPA conducted a week long QID (Qualification, Inspection & Demonstration) trial at the California Raceway in Fontana as a way of winnowing down the field to a maximum of 25 entrants, to insure that the vehicles were safe, and to allow the entrants some time to work on and test the vehicles on a course with a similar set of obstacles and challenges. In order to qualify, you had to pass inspections and to make it completely around a 1.3-mile long circuit designed to simulate conditions in the desert. When it became apparent that the vehicles were safe, that they were in no danger of having an overcrowded field, and that many were having difficulties completing the course; DARPA lowered the bar and allowed vehicles that had completed only part of the course to compete at the course that would start at the Slash-X.

As many California Desert OHV enthusiasts are aware, the Slash X is a small café and ranch located some 12 miles south west of Barstow CA of SR 247. This venue is a normally un-crowded café that is frequented by dirt lovers who come there for lunch and their favorite libation after using the Stoddard Wells OHV area, one of the few "open" riding areas where one does not have to stay on existing roads and trails.

Friday found the "X" a beehive of activity, packed with media from around the world, military observers, SCORE officials to organize and manage the event, contestants who were busy making last minute adjustments to their vehicles, spectators, and numbers of law enforcement to manage the crowds and ensure safety. I was later told that this circus cost DARPA some $13M to stage, and with the cast of thousands that were there and in Fontana, I had little doubt about that figure.

The pit area had been outfitted with portable generators and area lights to allow the contestants to work all night if necessary, to insure their vehicles were ready for the 6:00 AM Saturday start. The contestants were arranged in the order of their "finish" in Fontana, with the favorite Red Team first, the dark horse Blue Team last, and the Cal Tech White Teamin the middle, a very patriotic arrangement to be sure, but probably not deliberate.

Walking the pits was a fascinating experience, with the teams being very open to the media, and willing to stop and explain their approach, share their problems and even listen to our suggestions. In fact one of the teams was very concerned about their 6-wheel vehicles lack of suspension (Team Cajun-bot from the University of Louisiana), and when I identified myself as being from Off-Road.com, the asked me if there was anything they could do to improve the ride for their delicate electronics and sensors. When I suggested that they use the old Jeep trick of airing-down their tires, and they quickly grabbed a video camera and filmed me making that suggestion to their leader.

	Team Blue uses a gyroscope and deployable skids to stabilize the only two-wheeled entry in the group. The inventor would be thrilled to get 50'
Team Red's sensor suite & furry mascot (Photo by Michael Hernandez.)	(Photo by Michael Hernandez.)

Team Red's elaborate kinematic strut suspension system isolates (left to right) the LADAR, millimeter-wave RADAR, stereo electro-optical sensors and the electronics suite.

I could readily see why Team Red was the favorite. It was obviously a very large and professional group with matching red uniforms, and they went about preparing their vehicle like a well-oiled machine. Their vehicle of choice was a 1986 Hummer, with a turbo-charged diesel engine, and an elaborate scheme for isolating the sensor suite from the off-road vibration and shock. I noted that they had come up with a new housing for LADAR (A laser-based radar system that was used by most entrants to sense where the road/trail is, and augment the basic GPS-Receiver system used to guide the vehicles). When I asked about this, they noted that the original housing had been destroyed in a rollover experienced while cornering too fast. I was told that Carnegie-Mellon University and various sponsors have invested ~ $3 Million on autonomous vehicles and have been working on similar projects for several years. They were responsible for the remote control vehicles that was used inside the reactor on Three Mile Island and in mine rescues, so their experience and background for this competition was formidable indeed.

Palos Verdes High School's Doom Buggy (Photo by Mike Hobbs)	SciAutonics II (Avidor 2004) sponsored by the only off-road team in the competition, Motion Tire Motor Sports. The team races Score, BITD, and MDR . (Photo by Michael Hernandez.)
(Note: A Dodge 4X4 truck/chase-vehicle driven by a Score veteran followed each vehicle & was manned by a military person with a radio transmitter to "kill" any entry that ran amuck.)