While GM and Chrysler may be dealing with the shame of bankruptcy, Ford seems to have — so far — weathered the global financial storm while remaining in control of its own destiny. That might explain this YouTube video clip, which reportedly shows a Ford employee being taking for a joyride on a robotic arm. Comments by the YouTube poster seem to indicate that the footage was shot at a Ford factory, but it’s more likely that it was recorded at a robotics supplier.

Regardless of the shooting location, you have to give the passenger credit for trusting the operator/programmer of the robot arm. A hydraulically-assisted face plant wouldn’t feel so great, and the hapless subject appears to skim just inches above the floor in spots.

Sponsored by the US Department of Defense via the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge event featured a number of robotic vehicles autonomously navigating a 131.2 mile road course. A modified Volkswagen Touareg (affectionately dubbed “Stanley“) won the 2005 competition, followed by a few other similarly rugged and imposing vehicles. DARPA’s goal with the Grand Challenge was to kickstart the development of autonomous robotic vehicles for potential future military applications, a goal which it readily accomplished.

To up the ante once again, DARPA has commissioned another challenge, now based in an urban environment. Scheduled to take place on November 7th, 2007, the Urban Challenge will offer prizes to the top three vehicles that successfully complete a 60-mile urban course in less than six hours. The course will be filled with moving vehicle traffic, real-world traffic signs and signals and other pesky impediments to robotic driving.

While this contest may once again be dominated by entries based on SUVs, trucks and other hulking vehicles (like the massive TerraMax), North Carolina State University would like to be the exception to the rule.

After fielding an entry based on a Chevrolet Suburban in the 2005 event, NC State has teamed with Insight Technologies Inc., the Advanced Vehicle Research Center (AVRC) and Lotus Engineering to field an Urban Challenge entry based on the superlative Lotus Elise sports car.

The engineering team will obviously be busy squeezing all of the sensors, computers, GPS hardware and other robot bits into the comparatively tiny Elise over the next few months, as the Elise features an order of magnitude less interior volume than a Suburban. That said, NC State and company are sure to be building the most head-turning entrant in an admittedly crowded field.
 
(Source: NC State) – [Jeff James]
^{photos: © Group Lotus PLC}

News today from the AP that Honda has recently demonstrated a robotic hand controlled by brainwaves. The article goes on to say that Honda believes the technology may eventually have use in automobiles as well.

Could this mean no more yelling at the kids to turn down the volume of the DVD player during the next family road trip? Just a furrowed brow and a mental shout could do the trick. (Source: AP via Nxtbot.com) – [Jeff James]

Having a hard time finding space to park the few dozen Porsches and Ferraris in your auto collection? Take a look at this robotic parking garage, located at a Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany.

According to info over at Snopes and Inside Line, the 20-story towers that house this robotic car-fetcher are used solely to store new VW vehicles, which can be retrieved by their expectant owners after purchase.

Check out the Autostadt site for more information. – [Jeff James]

Fresh off the success of the DARPA Grand Challenge that saw several robotic vehicles successfully navigate a 131.2 mile road course, DARPA — the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — recently announced another challenge, now based in an urban environment.

From the DARPA news release:

“Grand Challenge 2005 proved that autonomous ground vehicles can travel significant distances and reach their destination, just as you or I would drive from one city to the next,” said DARPA Director Dr. Tony Tether. “After the success of this event, we believe the robotics community is ready to tackle vehicle operation inside city limits.”

Scheduled to take place on November 7th, 2007, the Urban Challenge will offer prizes to the top three vehicles that succesfully complete a 60-mile urban course in less than six hours. The course will be filled with moving vehicle traffic, real-world traffic signs and signals and other pesky impediments to robotic driving.

One hopes that DARPA and Co. will factor in the possibility of malfunctions and the like: having a 16-ton robotic truck (like the successful TerraMax, pictured above) smash through the local Starbucks thanks to a sensor glitch or Windows blue screen may not generate the best PR.

In all seriousness, the advances made in robotic control of vehicles over the last few years has been simply amazing. Head over to the DARPA site for more information on previous challenges and the latest on the new one. – [Jeff James]