Driving Blind

Industry, government and academia have their eyes on autonomous off-highway vehicles.

Events such as the DARPA Grand Challenge Los Angeles-to-Las Vegas race contribute to a raised awareness of the potential for unmanned vehicles in off-highway applications.

Many of the teams that competed in DARPA's $1 million race last month came from universities, which traditionally have done much of the basic research for technologies later adopted by industry. The race will undoubtedly provide some new ideas on design, but not to everyone: corporations have been working on autonomous vehicles for years.