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This little car can drive itself home

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by jkash, Sep 16, 2007.

  1. jkash

    jkash Member

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    This little car can drive itself home
    Team of students from Lehigh, Penn modify Prius for international contest.

    What could be the latest innovation in military technology is undergoing testing in a parking lot at Lehigh University.

    Little Ben, a silver-gray Toyota Prius, represents the future of driverless vehicles -- known in military-speak as autonomous ground vehicles -- which the U.S. military hopes will one day reduce the number of lives lost on supply missions in war zones.

    For several months this year, the parking lot near the Rauch Fieldhouse served as the testing grounds for the driverless vehicle developed by engineers from Lehigh, the University of Pennsylvania and the defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

    The snub-nosed hybrid circled the macadam on Lehigh University's Goodman campus on an overcast August afternoon, practicing three-point turns and stopping at several checkpoints as its programmers requested.

    Someone is sitting at the wheel, but no one is driving Little Ben, except Little Ben. A combination of computer programs, lasers and a global positioning system help the car ''see'' in three dimensions and pick out other vehicles, curbs and obstacles -- such as the overhanging tree branch that makes it stop short.

    Read more.
     
    #1 jkash, Sep 16, 2007
  2. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Wow I didn't realize this was happening in my back yard. I hope Little Ben wins the competition.
     
    #2 paprius4030, Sep 16, 2007
  3. statultra

    statultra uber-Senior Member

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    i was a student at NJIT, where there was a chevy blazer and like 20 guys in darpa grand challenge, and i suggested to them to use a toyota prius, easier to modify than the chevy blazer they were using, but no one really cared, with a combination of EPS and computer controlled throttle and brakes, it would be so much easier to create a autonomous vehicle than a conventional car
     
    #3 statultra, Sep 16, 2007
  4. Skwyre7

    Skwyre7 What's the catch?

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    My brother-in-law is working on a team that is competing with HiHy's.
     
    #4 Skwyre7, Sep 24, 2007
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