We Are All Winners

The Urban Challenge is a race, so the talk on race eve is all about winning, not to mention the $2 million first prize. But the point of this enterprise remains the technology and, from that perspective, we've already won.

Or so say the executives of three Tartan Racing sponsors, who met the press Friday afternoon in the team pit. The technology that enables Boss to drive itself could someday be used to automate mining trucks and other heavy equipment that operates in dangerous environments, for instance.

Tana Utley, vice president and chief technology officer for Caterpillar, said her company puts great emphasis on safety systems that protect the drivers of their mining trucks, bulldozers and other machines. "What better way is there to make them safe than to get them out of the machine?"

Likewise, Karl-Thomas Neumann, president of Continental Automotive Systems, said his company, which makes radars, video cameras and other automotive sensors, is using sensor-based technology to develop "active safety" systems that can prevent most accidents. To the extent that the Urban Challenge has hastened that day, "I really think that we have already won."

The technology certainly will enhance safety, agreed Larry Burns, vice president of GM research and development and strategic planning. But it also can help reduce congestion, reduce traffic delays and generally make driving more enjoyable. "Boss really moves us much closer to realizing our vision," he said. "At the end of the day, the real winners here will be the consumers.

Of course, we'd also like to win the race.

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News & Politics

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