The Book: The University of Louisiana's CajunBot

[RaginFan2]

That's too bad. But the fact that no one went more than 7 miles shows how difficult a challenge it is. I agree that Team Cajunbot represented our university very well! This event is another proud moment for the University of Louisiana. We're starting to accumulate many of these moments, which bodes well for the future. More great things are ahead!

Great job, Team Cajunbot!

[RaginRash]

No one expected to finish the course. The fact that Team Cajunbot was selected and MADE the qualifying round with no Robotics major/curriculum at UL, starting the project a few months ago, and doing better than many well financed and talented teams is a testament to the strength, ability, and potential this team and University have.

GEAUX CAJUNS! This team really kicked some major sss.

[NewsCopy]

ULL team's creation gives middle-school students front-row seat

LOUISIANA La. -- The University of Louisiana's Team CajunBot put their creation through its paces Thursday for a crowd of seventh- through ninth-graders from Avoyelles Parish.

Then, the team gave some of the teens the controls.

A team of ULL students and faculty built the six-wheeled, 1,200-pound robot in 2003 to compete in a Department of Defense competition to develop autonomous robots capable of moving through dangerous areas.

Team CajunBot was one of only 15 to qualify for the 210-mile race in March. While it didn't win the race between Barstow Calif., and Primm, Nev., neither did any of the other entries.

Team CajunBot member Scott Wilson said he doesn't expect any school to get across the finish line the next time either.

The next race will have a pot of $2 million awaiting the winner, if there is one.

The rest of the story

By PATRICK COURREGES
pcourreges@theadvocate.com
Acadiana bureau

[BabbForHeisman]

The CajunBot team will be entering two vehicles in this October's competition, the old six-wheel vehicle (with numerous modifications) and a second vehicle, a brand new red jeep.

The jeep now officially has a name: Ragin'Bot.

Check out prelimary video of the Ragin'Bot here:

http://cajunbot.com/site70.php

[NewsCopy]

Last year, students at the University of Louisiana jokingly referred to themselves as the Jamaican bobsledding team of robotics.

But, as it turned out, there was nothing funny about the impressive performance put on by a small group of UL students and a robot that more than held its own in a race across the desert.

Now one year later, the CajunBot is preparing for another run at the Brass Ring and a million dollars in prize money.

UL president Ray Authement told a group of faculty and students outside of Dupre Library last year he had always dreamed of the day when UL would compete with big league universities.

In March of last year, that dream came true when a small group of UL students entered the CajunBot in a high-tech race across the desert sponsored by the U.S. military.

The Pentagon's desert race competition pitted autonomously-controlled vehicles from some of the nation's most prestigious universities in contest to see who could build a self-navigating vehicle capable of traveling 150 miles across the desert in ten hours or less.

As it turned out, there were no winners last year, but UL and the CajunBot did well enough to earn another chance this year.

The CajunBot uses a combination of GPS navigation, lasers and sonar to see the ground in front of it and then proceed along the path of least resistance.

The rest of the story

[snote]

board question?

which cajunbot team memeber will be on the radio in the morning?

hint: no dumb jock him (grins)

[BabbForHeisman]

Jonathan Raush would be the best guess I have.

Either that, or Ross Mouton joined the CajunBot team.

Or somehow I made it on the radio.

Gosh that narrowed it down.

[snote]

Originally posted by BabbForHeisman
Jonathan Raush would be the best guess I have.

good guess - he did well..

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. -- CajunBot and its cousin, RaginBot, were put through the motions Monday for Defense Department officials in hopes the computer-guided vehicles can qualify for an upcoming challenge race through the desert.

CajunBot was one of 15 robotic vehicles that competed last year for the Grand Challenge -- a 150-mile race through the Mojave Desert using vehicles operated only by on-board computers and sensors.

None of the teams completed the course, so the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -- or DARPA -- doubled the prize to $2 million for the winner of this year's race.

DARPA's purpose through the Grand Challenge is to develop unmanned ground vehicles to help protect soldiers on the battlefield.

CajunBot and RaginBot were developed by students and researchers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

CajunBot was the lovable underdog entry last year, going up against entries from better-funded and more recognizable robotics institutions such as MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Cal Tech, using a amphibious six-wheel vehicle often used by hunters.

RaginBot is a Jeep, donated by Lafayette Motors, outfitted with the same sensors and steered and driven using a modified system used by physically impaired drivers.

The rest of the story

By KEVIN BLANCHARD
kblanchard@theadvocate.com
Acadiana bureau

[NewsCopy]

With one race behind them, a team of students and faculty at the University of Louisiana are taking another shot racing their six-wheeled, all-terrain celebrity vehicle - CajunBot.

But this year, the team is doubling its chances, entering another vehicle - Ragin'Bot, a Jeep Rubicon.

Up for grabs - $2 million and the development of autonomous military technology in the Department of Defense's DARPA's Grand Challenge.

Both vehicles are outfitted with the technology to drive itself controlling its speed and detect and navigate around obstacles.

On Monday, two Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency officials visited campus to check out both vehicles. The visit is one of about 117 made across the country to teams at universities and private industries to cut the competition down to about 40.

Teams will know in about a month if they qualify for the next round in late September and ultimately the race Oct. 8. Only about 25 teams are expected to race for the $2 million.

Last year, CajunBot, the team's six-wheeled all-terrain vehicle, was one of 13 vehicles than ran the race between Barstow, Calif., and Primm, Nev., but no one won last year's $1 million race. That year the longest distance traveled was about seven miles. Though CajunBot didn't return a million-dollar winner, it made national headlines, including CNN airtime.

On Monday, the robots had their first test in the DARPA visit. The visits are an opportunity for teams to showcase their work - not only on their bots - but as a team, said Col. Gasper Gulotta of DARPA.

"We want to make sure things will progress and that they show that they understand what's involved," said Edward Baranoski, Ph.D., another DARPA official.

The team is comprised of students, faculty and even community members with the support of industry sponsors. Its major sponsors include C&C Technologies, MedExpress, Real-Time Innovations, Inc. headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., UL and the Center for Advanced Computer Studies, Lafayette Motors and Oxford Technical Solutions and Brendel Associates based in the United Kingdom.

The rest of the story

Marsha Sills
msills@theadvertiser.com

For more information about DARPA's Grand Challenge, go to www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge

[NewsCopy]

>

LOS ANGELES Let the battle of the machines begin again.

Forty self-navigating robots -- including the University of Louisiana's CajunBot -- were chosen today to compete in the October eighth sequel to last year's first-ever robot race across the Mojave Desert.

Only half of the semifinalists will qualify for a spot on the starting line, based on how they maneuver -- without human help -- through a series of obstacle courses.

The stakes are higher this time around. Organizers of the Pentagon-sponsored race doubled the prize money after none of the 15 contestants finished the rugged desert course last year.

A converted Humvee by Carnegie Mellon University was the best performer last year despite traveling only seven-and-a-half miles across the desert before breaking down.

The source of the story

[BabbForHeisman]

Since nobody in the local media seems to be picking this one up, I'll keep anyone who's interested up to date.

Background: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is trying to improve their autonomous vehicle technology, so they proposed a contest in 2004, called the Grand Challenge, that would award $1 million to any team that was able to complete a 150 mile course with an autonomous vehicle. Since no one won, the prize for 2005 was raised to $2 million.

Selection: Each team was required to submit an application, complete with a project summary and some brief technical information. DARPA then selected the top 120 of these entries. The University of Louisiana's CajunBot was one of these 120.

Next, DARPA made a site visit to each of these teams in order to see the vehicle for themselves and get a demonstration. From there, DARPA narrowed the field down to 40 semi-finalists. CajunBot was again one of the 40.

Early last week, DARPA brought those 40 teams to Ontario, California, to compete in the National Qualifying Event (NQE), where the field would be eventually narrowed down to 20 before the Grand Challenge on Oct. 8.



The NQE consists of a 2.5-3 mile course on the infield of the California Speedway. DARPA sets up the course to test specific skills of the vehicles. Each team will get 4 or 5 runs on the course by Wednesday night, when the top 20 will be announced.