GrayBot (a.k.a. KAT-5) had an impressive performance in the 2005 Grand Challenge 


One of the most interesting teams among the five whose autonomous robotic vehicles finished DARPA's 2005 Grand Challenge was the Gray Team. Unlike the leading entries from Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, GrayBot was not built by a high-profile team from a big-name university with a long history of research in robotics. GrayBot was put together in about seven months by The Gray Insurance Company with some help from students in Metairie, LA. Katrina disrupted their efforts for about a week. 

GrayBot, a modified 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid, finished in 4th place after completing the 131.6 mile course in 7 hours 30 minutes. GrayBot used vertically mounted laser range finders to get a better view of increasing road elevation. It had solar panels on its roof to keep its batteries topped off.

 

Posted: Tuesday - October 11, 2005 at 12:15 AM          

©