A robot-driven VW Touareg named “Stanley” completed the 132-mile Mojave Desert course of the DARPA Grand Challenge in six hours and 53 minutes, using its computers and sensors to navigate rough desert and mountainous terrain. “Stanley” was designed by a team from Stanford University, and competed in a field of 23 autonomous vehicles. The prize: $2 million. (DR, 10/05/05)
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.