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Not content to field yet another hulking behemoth in the upcoming 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge autonomous vehicle event, North Carolina State University has teamed with Lotus Engineering to build a modified Lotus Elise sportscar for their entry.

Check out this related DARPA Lotus Elise post for more information on the speedy driverless-vehicle to be, in addition to an extra photo or two of the impressive Elise.
(Source[s]: DrivelineBlog, NC State) – [Jeff James]
^{photo: © Group Lotus PLC}

Fans of Spider-Man’s arch-enemy Dr. Octopus now have reason to rejoice: researchers have managed to create the equivalent of robotic tentacles which can grasp, manipulate and lift objects. A team of scientists and engineers working on the OCTOR Project — partially funded by DARPA — are exploring “ways to bring the remarkable capabilities of muscular hydrostats such as octopus arms to robotics by designing, analyzing, and building continuum robots.”

According to the OCTOR Project site, the researchers are inspired by such real-world, non-rigid appendages as elephant trunks, mammal tongues and — you guessed it — octopus arms. It seems that traditional robotic claw and clamp appendages are unsuitable for some applications, so flexible appendages like these hold hope for new solutions to search and rescue and other dangerous missions.

Check out the official OCTOR Project page here, video of an appendage in action here, the DARPA Biodynotics page here, and a nice Dr. Octopus overview here. (Source: OCTOR Project) – [Jeff James]

We’ve already posted a bit about the impressive results from the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, which tasked a bevy of robotic vehicles with autonomously navigating a 131.2 mile road course. Three vehicles managed to make it across the finish line in the time allotted for the competition, proving that full-size robotic vehicles are a tangible possibility in the near (5-10 year) future.

Now DARPA has announced the Urban Challenge, a new event that will task the next generation of robotic vehicles to (according to the DARPA news release) “safely complete a 60-mile urban area course in fewer than six hours.”

Check out more on the announcement here and also at the official DARPA Urban Challenge site. – [Jeff James]

At the 22nd National Space Symposium — held in Colorado Spings, CO yesterday — iRobot’s PackBot was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame. Created with technology developed partially at JPL and and DARPA, the PackBot has proven itself to be the bomb disposal unit’s best friend, helping identify and disable improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here’s a quote from the iRobot press release about the event:

“Advanced robot technology, like the PackBot, has many important applications — from space exploration and assisting soldiers on the battlefield to cleaning homes,” said Vice Admiral Joe Dyer (U.S. Navy, Ret.), executive vice president and general manager, iRobot. “PackBot’s induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame is a testament to iRobot’s ability to build upon its proven technological achievements to create more advanced robots.”

Check out the news release, the official iRobot PackBot site and the Space Tech Hall of Fame for more info.

One of the more interesting programs to appear on public television recently was NOVA’s entertaining and informative program on the DARPA’s 2005 Grand Challenge, dubbed The Great Robot Race. 

The event itself — sponsored by DARPA in an effort to further development of autonomous vehicles for possible use in future robotic military hardware — was held on Saturday, October 8th, 2005. Five vehicles out of the 23 finalists managed to complete the challenging 131.2 mile road course, wiith Stanford’s VW Touareg-based “Stanley” taking home top honors and the $2 million grand prize.

You can now view the NOVA program online in its entirety here. For more information on the challenge, visit the DARPA and Stanford websites as well. – [Jeff James]