Today we ran Course C again. Course C tests the Lone Wolf’s ability to correctly navigate intersections. Scenarios were set up with 1, 2 and 3 other cars in the intersection, the Lone Wolf following another car into an intersection with traffic, and multiple cars lined up to enter an intersection. The Lone Wolf went through its paces. It did great. There was one interesting maneuver during the run. The Lone Wolf thought it was blocked right before a checkpoint and turned itself around. It then proceeded to re-route itself back to the check point. Remembering there was a blockage before the checkpoint, it did another 3 point turn (K-turn) and continued on its mission. It was cool to watch. After viewing the on-board video of the run (after the run was completed), we found that the Lone Wolf also encountered a road blocked by construction barrels. It performed a nice 3 point turn and again re-routed itself so it could continue on its mission. Very cool.
It was another tense day in the pit. Several teams were told that they were eliminated. Some were told they are fully qualified. Again, we are in limbo, waiting for the announcement of the finalists at 2pm eastern tomorrow (Thursday.)
So tonight we wait again, hoping tomorrow will bring a positive outcome.
DARPA has cut 6 more teams, for a total of 12 teams eliminated. Insight Racing is in the remaining 23 teams competing for one of the 20 slots in the November 3rd Urban Challenge race. The courses are extremely difficult and the competition is very intense. The tension mounts as we continue our runs as DARPA evaluates our capabilities.
Recent interviews include: Forbes.com, Korean PBS, and a French news company. Discovery Channel was by today and plans to cover our next run.