In 2007, Sarnoff Corporation participated in and advanced to the final round of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge. The Urban Challenge is a competition designed to foster the development of autonomous robotic ground vehicles and ultimately save lives on the battlefield. Sarnoff, in collaboration with Autonomous Solutions, Inc, and DeVivo AST, Inc, was one of 20 teams to advance to the finals from an initial group of 89.
The robotic vehicles in the event were challenged to navigate a 60-mile course autonomously in under six hours—obeying traffic laws while performing maneuvers such as merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles and avoiding obstacles. Utilizing our years of experience in robotics perception, vision-based automotive safety, and driver awareness, Sarnoff provided the test vehicle with the ability to "see." Vision technology equipped the autonomous vehicle with increased road awareness, vehicle recognition and obstacle avoidance.
The use of highly accurate visual odometry has paved the way for the next generation of automotive navigation by allowing a vehicle to always know its location, even in GPS-denied areas. Sarnoff’s participation in the Urban Challenge allowed us to showcase and improve the automotive safety technology pioneered here. Autonomous vehicle technology can save lives — from the warfighter no longer placed in harm’s way on the battlefield, to the everyday driver that benefits from intelligent vehicle systems.
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