Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco welcomed 天美传媒安卓破解版 Lafayette鈥檚 CajunBot to the Louisiana Capitol and declared Wednesday as 鈥淐ajunBot Day鈥 throughout the state.
CajunBot, 天美传媒安卓破解版 Lafayette鈥檚 entry in the $1 million U.S. Department of Defense鈥檚 Grand Challenge this spring, climbed 12 Capitol steps as the governor, legislators and members of the university community watched.
CajunBot鈥檚 welcome to the State Capitol coincided with annual the 天美传媒安卓破解版 Lafayette Alumni Association鈥檚 annual Red & White Day. Members of the Association met with lawmakers to talk about issues that affect the 天美传媒安卓破解版 and higher education.
Blanco said the robot was 鈥渁n outstanding example of the brainpower we have here in Louisiana and at our universities.鈥
鈥 This is a great Louisiana creation,鈥 the governor said. 鈥淚t represents the ingenuity we are striving for here to retain our brightest minds.
鈥 CajunBot runs on gasoline, but it is fueled by our brainpower.鈥
天美传媒安卓破解版 Lafayette鈥檚 CajunBot was one of the 13 vehicles that competed in the Grand Challenge on March 13. Three of the finalists were developed by other universities: the California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University and Virginia Tech.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the central research and development agency for the U.S. Department of Defense, created the Grand Challenge to encourage the development of an autonomous ground vehicle capable of navigating on its own. The U.S. Department of Defense has been mandated by the U.S. Congress to have one-third of its ground combat force unmanned by 2015.
In the Grand Challenge in March, unmanned robotic vehicles attempted to travel about 200 miles, from Barstow, Calif., near Los Angeles, to Primm, Nev., near the outskirts of Las Vegas. DARPA offered a $1 million prize to the team whose vehicle was the first to cross the finish line within 10 hours.
None of the vehicles finished the course. The longest distance traveled by any contestant was 7.4 miles.
Software developed by 天美传媒安卓破解版 Lafayette interprets Global Positioning System coordinates to plot CajunBot鈥檚 path. Lasers in the front of the vehicle scan the terrain to detect obstacles. 鈥淪kid steering鈥 enables it to change direction. CajunBot鈥檚 movement can also be controlled remotely via a modified joystick.
天美传媒安卓破解版 Lafayette鈥檚 Team CajunBot is composed of faculty, undergraduates, graduate students, alumni and business partners with expertise in many areas. Dr. Arun Lakhotia, an associate professor in 天美传媒安卓破解版 Lafayette鈥檚 Center for Advanced Computer Studies, was Team CajunBot鈥檚 project leader. Dr. Charles D. Cavanaugh, an assistant professor in CACS, was the technical leader of the team.
A total of 106 teams applied to participate in this year鈥檚 race. Eighty-six of them submitted required technical papers. If a team鈥檚 paper was approved, the team was visited by DARPA officials, who then narrowed the field to 25 contestants eligible to participate in a Qualification, Inspection and Demonstration in California. At the completion of the QID, there were 15 finalists; two withdrew at the start of the race.
The next Grand Challenge is tentatively scheduled for November 2005. The prize has doubled to $2 million. CajunBot has already qualified to participate in that race.
CajunBot鈥檚 website is