CajunBot 2004, Year 1 Introduction

In 2001, the U.S. Congress mandated that one-third of all ground vehicles in the U.S. Armed Forces be replaced with robotic vehicles by the year 2015.

In 2002, DARPA announced the first Grand Challenge: "Build a robotic vehicle able to travel unassisted on a predefined path of about 130 miles through the Mojave Desert. The fastest robot to navigate the course in less than 10 hours will take home $1 million." The first competition was scheduled in March 2004.

Team CajunBot quickly formed. A group of professors and students from the University of Louisiana banded together to take on the 2004 Challenge. The first CajunBot vehicle was ready within a few short months. It was built on a 6-wheeled all-terrain vehicle commonly used for hunting in the swamps and marshlands.

UL Lafayette was one of the 13 teams that made it to the finals.
All 13 teams lost that first race.

This is the making of the first CajunBot in 2004.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• CajunBot
• DARPA Challenge
• UL Lafayette
• Louisiana
• robot