{"51368":{"#nid":"51368","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech-SAIC Sting Racing Team Departs for DARPA Urban Challenge","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch2\u003ETeam headed to California to compete among 35 semifinalist teams from across the country\u003C\/h2\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EATLANTA (October 22, 2007) \u2013 The College of Computing at Georgia Tech today announced that the Sting Racing team, a collaboration between Georgia Tech and Science Applications International Corporation [NYSE: SAI], has left for Victorville, Calif. to compete in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency\u2019s (DARPA) Urban Challenge semifinals and finals events with their fully autonomous vehicle entry, Sting 1. The semifinal National Qualifying Event (NQE) is scheduled to begin October 26, with the final event on November 3 on the site of the former George Air Force Base. Georgia Tech-SAIC Sting Racing, composed of researchers from Georgia Tech\u2019s Colleges of Computing, Engineering, the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and SAIC, is one of only 35 semifinalist teams from across the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe invite the public to join us in applauding the members of the Sting Racing team and their inspiring enthusiasm and commitment,\u201d said Dr. Henrik Christensen, KUKA chair of Robotics for the College of Computing at Georgia Tech and principal investigator for Sting Racing. \u201cWith support from Georgia Tech, SAIC, and the local community, we are ready to compete among the world\u2019s best robotics programs and drive our way into the Urban Challenge finals.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more than a year the members of the Sting Racing team have been working to prepare and program Sting 1, a Porsche Cayenne, to compete autonomously in this high-profile, national challenge. Combining the leadership and broad technological expertise in robotics at Georgia Tech and complemented by SAIC\u2019s capabilities in robot vision and sensor fusion, the team has risen to the challenge of programming the vehicle to operate without a driver, stay on course, and deal with obstacles in its way, such as fellow cars, while maintaining realistic speeds. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u201cSting 1 illustrates the seamless collaboration the Georgia Tech-SAIC team members have demonstrated in preparing for the Urban Challenge this past year,\u201d said Karl Kluge, SAIC senior scientist \u2013 perception researcher.\u00a0 \u201cWith Georgia Tech as one of the nation\u2019s foremost robotics research institutions and SAIC as a seasoned, two-time DARPA Grand Challenge contender, the Sting Racing entry is a strong contender in this Challenge.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Urban Challenge is the third in a series of DARPA-sponsored competitions to foster the development of robotic ground vehicle technology without a human operator, designed for use on the battlefield. The Urban Challenge will feature autonomous ground vehicles executing simulated military supply missions safely and effectively in a mock urban area. DARPA will award $2 million, $1 million and $500,000 awards to the top three finishers that complete the course within the six-hour time limit. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sting-racing.org\u0022\u003Ewww.sting-racing.org\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAbout SAIC\u003Cbr \/\u003ESAIC is a leading provider of scientific, engineering, systems integration and technical services and solutions to all branches of the U.S. military, agencies of the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. Government civil agencies, as well as to customers in selected commercial markets.\u00a0 With more than 44,000 employees in over 150 cities worldwide, SAIC engineers and scientists solve complex technical challenges requiring innovative solutions for customers\u2019 mission-critical functions.\u00a0 SAIC had annual revenues of $8.3 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2007.\u00a0 \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAbout the College of Computing at Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe College of Computing at Georgia Tech is a national leader in the creation of real-world computing breakthroughs that drive social and scientific progress. With its graduate program ranked 11th nationally by U.S. News and World Report, the College\u2019s unconventional approach to education is defining the new face of computing by expanding the horizons of traditional computer science students through interdisciplinary collaboration and a focus on human centered solutions. For more information about the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, its academic divisions and research centers, please visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\u0022 title=\u0022www.cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ewww.cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, contact:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStefany Wilson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCollege of Computing at Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n404.894.7253\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ca title=\u0022Stefany Wilson\u0022 href=\u0022..\/..\/..\/inside\/directory\/stefany-wilson\u0022\u003Estefany@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\u0022..\/..\/..\/\u0022\u003Ewww.cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe College of Computing at Georgia Tech today announced that the Sting\nRacing team, a collaboration between Georgia Tech and Science\nApplications International Corporation [NYSE: SAI], has left for\nVictorville, Calif. to compete in the Defense Advanced Research\nProjects Agency\u2019s (DARPA) Urban Challenge semifinals and finals events\nwith their fully autonomous vehicle entry, Sting 1.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27154","created_gmt":"2010-02-09 21:43:47","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:04:46","author":"Louise Russo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2007-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2007-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"8427","name":"artificialintelligence"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}