FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - They're a motley bunch of garage tinkerers, off-road enthusiasts, high-school students, physicists and programmers who hope their microprocessor-jammed jalopies usher in the next generation of military combat vehicles.
The question is, can any of these meticulously engineered, unmanned autos actually make it across the Mojave Desert on their own?
On Saturday, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon's few-holds-barred research and development arm, will award $1 million to the first team whose robotic vehicle can cover a rugged desert course from Barstow, Calif., to Primm, Nev., in less than 10 hours.
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 Patheep Noingbangk, right, and Natthakarn Pantiyanurak, Thai Buddhist monks, bless Team Phantasm's robotic vehicle called Ladibug, Monday. (AP/Ric Francis)
Robot vehicles struggle in Pentagon-race trials in Mojave Desert Canadian Press - Tue Mar 9, 6:19 PM ET |