Sting Racing, a joint collaboration between the College of Computing, the College of Engineering, the Georgia Tech Research Institute and SAIC, is competing in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge with a fully automated Porsche Cayenne, designated Sting 1. For nearly a year the members of the Sting Racing team have been working to program the robot to drive autonomously by staying on course and recognizing obstacles in its way, such as other cars.

On August 9th, the College of Computing at Georgia Tech issued a release announcing that the Sting Racing team passed its site visit and is one of 36 teams judged technologically capable of competing in the final round. Sting 1 successfully completed all four tests during its capabilities evaluation on June 18, taking it into the next stage in this two-year competition among leading research and technology universities in the United States.

“As a first year competitor in the Urban Challenge, qualifying for the semi-final round is a major accomplishment and testament to the passion and dedication of our team,” said Dr. Henrik Christensen, KUKA Chair of Robotics for the College of Computing at Georgia Tech and Principal Investigator for Sting Racing. “Our robotics program at Georgia Tech is relatively new, but the progress we have shown over a short period of time has positioned us among the best in the nation."

The 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, set for November 3, 2007, will be held at the former site of the George Air Force Base near Victorville, CA, and will feature autonomous ground vehicles executing simulated military supply missions safely and effectively in a mock urban area. Safe operation in traffic is essential to U.S. military plans to use autonomous ground vehicles to conduct important missions and keep American personnel out of harm’s way. 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.

For more information:
Read the Official Release
Team Sting Racing Photo Gallery
The Sting Racing Website
The DARPA Urban Grand Challenge Website