NQE Test, Monday, Oct. 29

Boss's ability to handle contingencies was tested in expected and unexpected ways this morning as the robot completed the third and final test run in the first NQE series.

This run, which began at 8:18 a.m. Pacific time, was over a loop course in a former suburban subdivision, though much of the course could not be seen by spectators. The run tested the vehicle's ability to handle four-way stops -- determining which vehicles at the intersection have precedence and then taking its turn. That was no sweat for Boss.

Things got more interesting about 13 minutes into the run. DARPA officials placed traffic barrels across the road, blocking Boss from reaching a checkpoint. Boss responded appropriately, figuring out an alternative route and then executing a perfect 3-point turn to reverse direction.

When Boss found its new route also was blocked it began another 3-point turn, pulling up on the far curb and then backing up. It only needed to turn left to complete the turn, but Boss was indecisive, sitting motionless while turning its front wheels left, right, left, right. To members of Tartan Racing, watching from a few hundred feet away, it was if Boss was waving at them.

After about a minute and a half, a DARPA official came over to ask the team what it wanted to do. They opted to do nothing. Boss was well aware of its lack of progress, explained Chris Urmson, director of technology. After a certain interval without progress, Boss knows it must re-plan its actions. Just moments after the DARPA official asked the question, Boss began moving again. It completed the turn and, in short order, the test run as well.

But as the team learned later, Boss's movement had nothing to do with a new plan. What happened, explained Dave Ferguson, the team's planning lead, is that Boss kicked up a cloud of dust as it backed up. The vehicle's sensors interpreted the dust as an object. Unfortunately, the cloud of dust also entered into Boss's blind spot. So, when the dust settled, the sensors no longer showed any obstacle, but the vehicle's brain still had to assume that there was an obstruction in its blind spot. Perceiving its way blocked, Boss refused to move.

Luckily, the "waving" of the front wheels must have moved Boss just a tiny bit -- enough to reveal part of the blind spot. That's when Boss realized there was nothing in its blind spot and began to move again. It was a scenario the team had never seen before; changes are being made so Boss doesn't get flummoxed like this again.

Still, Boss encountered few problems in Area C. "All in all, another excellent run," Urmson said.

This afternoon, Boss will begin the second series of NQE test runs, which continue through the end of the NQE on Wednesday. Boss will repeat Test Area B, where the robot must maneuver around obstructions in narrow, winding roads and park in a designated spot in a parking lot. Boss nailed its first run in Area B on Saturday morning, but most other teams have failed to finish their runs there.

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• carnegie
• mellon
• tartan
• racing
• darpa
• urban
• grand
• challenge
• gm
• continental
• caterpillar
• whittaker
• red
• urmson
• cmu

[xXfalafelXx]

smarter than the average car

[Manwivachain]

Nice

[collateralcallous]

Great Team and Great Car in a great event.

Hats off to intelligent boss.