The Book: The University of Louisiana's CajunBot

[Damon]

As a computer science grad, this news is very good. Those guys work extremely hard and produce great results. It's also alot of good publicity for the department.

GREAT JOB!

[Corndog308]

Can they make me a bot that fetches me a beer when I don't feel like getting up? What kind of bot would you make?

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA — Team CajunBot got the word Thursday it will be headed to California in October for the next leg of the Urban Challenge competition. The competition is held by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as a way to spur development of autonomous vehicles for military use. Team CajunBot consists mostly of University of Louisiana at Lafayette students. The previous two challenges — in which Team CajunBot has also competed — were held in the desert. This year, the challenge will be held in an urban environment in order to simulate the type of terrain American forces will encounter overseas. Team CajunBot is one of only 36 teams — out of an original 89 — that have made the cut. DARPA officials have watched each team put its vehicle through tests in order to make cuts. Other teams are a mix of universities, private companies or public-private teams. The rest of the story By KEVIN BLANCHARD Advocate Acadiana bureau

[Turbine]

What kind of bot would you make? _

I might be temped to relive my youth and get another paper route.

All I would need to make it a go is an an auto paper folder, bagger and thrower.

[RaginFan2]

I might be temped to relive my youth and get another paper route.

All I would need to make it a go is an an auto paper folder, bagger and thrower.

Need someone to drive you around, junior? I hear Zeebart has some spare time on his hands (temporarily).

[Zeebart21]

Need someone to drive you around, junior? I hear Zeebart has some spare time on his hands (temporarily).

RFII, whats up!!!? Look forward to you making your obligatory trek to the Eaque on 09-08-07. I might have a chilled bottle of Jaeger ready to crack in your honor!

Z.

[RaginFan2]

RFII, whats up!!!? Look forward to you making your obligatory trek to the Eaque on 09-08-07. I might have a chilled bottle of Jaeger ready to crack in your honor!

Z.

Ready, willing and able! But what's happening on the 8th? Do we have a football game or something then? Maybe it's a soccer game. I thought the season didn't start until the 15th.

[Zeebart21]

Ready, willing and able! But what's happening on the 8th? Do we have a football game or something then? Maybe it's a soccer game. I thought the season didn't start until the 15th.

Oh, snap!!!

LOL

Z

[NewsCopy]

  The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has winnowed down the list of competitors in its upcoming Urban Challenge to 36 teams. And it’s no surprise that many of those squads hail from universities that performed well in 2005’s Grand Challenge, Darpa’s pioneering robot race.

Stanford University took top honors in the 2005 competition, edging out two self-driving vehicles from Carnegie Mellon University in a tense trek through the Mojave Desert. Those two institutions could be on track to square off again: Both have had vehicles selected as semifinalists in this year’s race, which will take place in November on a decommissioned Air Force base in California.

Darpa officials chose the semifinalists after visiting more than 50 teams from across the country. The squads that made the cut — which also include robotics groups from Cornell University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others — will compete in time trials just a week before the main event. The quickest 20 robots will then get a chance to compete for a prize pool worth $3.5-million. —Brock Read

The source of the story

[NewsCopy]

  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency named 36 semi-finalists in its renowned robot race, the DARPA Urban Challenge. The race pits self-driving vehicles designed by some of the country's top computer science students against each other along a grueling physical course.

DARPA officials chose semifinalists from a list of 50 teams from across the country. University teams that made the cut included Stanford and Carnegie Mellon--2005's first and second finishers respectively--as well as Cornell University, the University of Louisiana and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The rest of the story

By Paul McCloskey
Campus Technology

[Cajun Express]

_ Ready, willing and able! But what's happening on the 8th? Do we have a football game or something then? Maybe it's a soccer game. I thought the season didn't start until the 15th. _

No, no that is not the start of the season, that is the start of defending the tailgating zones, as we will be overwhelmed by the broke (back) nation.

[NewsCopy]

Qualifying for the Department of Defense’s race of unmanned vehicles began Friday with UL’s CajunBot team among the 35 contenders. Qualifying continues through Halloween Day. Teams that move through the qualifying round will be eligible to particpate in the $2 million Urban Challenge on Nov. 3 at a military training base in Victorville, Calif. The qualifying event officially kicked off Friday at the Southern California Logistics Airport. The race is sponsored by the DoD’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — DARPA. “This is all about saving lives,” Dr. Tony Tether, DARPA director. “And even if you don’t get the trophy, you are all still winners for having been here in the first place.” UL’s team were finalist for the challenge in 2004 and 2005. The first two challenges were over desert terrain, while the Nov. 3 race will be held on the training base to test the robots in an urban environment. The rest of the story