Loading timeline…
20042000s
DARPA Grand Challenges
A prize competition for American autonomous vehicles tracking desert and urban courses.
Why It Was Important
In 2004, no vehicle completed the desert route. By 2005, five vehicles (led by Stanford's 'Stanley' under Sebastian Thrun) finished. The 2007 Urban Challenge introduced traffic laws. These competitions violently accelerated sensor fusion (LIDAR, radar, vision) and AI planning loops, effectively birthing the modern autonomous vehicle industry.
Who Invented It
DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Applications
- Autonomous Vehicles
- Sensor Fusion
- Real-time robotics
Key Papers
- Stanley: The Robot That Won the DARPA Grand Challenge
Sebastian Thrun · Journal of Field Robotics · 2006
Videos
The 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals
The Verge