Geek Habitat

(Title’s from a favorite scene in Love Actually…)

You may remember the past couple years where top notch teams have pitted their robotic vehicles against one another on complex, many mile obstacle courses. No vehicle has a driver, or at least any human, onboard during the race.

Well, this year’s challenge is a big one — the first urban challenge of the vehicles. If they thought it was hard calibrating for and avoiding obstacles like fallen tree limbs, ravines, ridgelines, water hazards, etc. just wait until they deal with the likes of downtown traffic or rush hour gridlock!

I should note the race course will be a simulated urban environment, and that they won’t be turning these beasties loose on San Francisco or something… yet!

Should be interesting…

More Info:

• CNN Article
• DARPA Grand Challenge: Urban Challenge official website

In Other News

Conversation from this morning with Justin:

• Him: “It sure would be nice not to have to do this ‘working for a living’ thing. You know, silver spoon and all…”
• Me: “Yeah… but then you’d have to check yourself into rehab, instead.”
• Him: “True….and shave my head.”

Come to think of it, Justin doesn’t have much further to go before he’ll be shaving his head. Maybe our world domination and early retirement plan is viable, after all? {grin}