Self-Driving Cars and the Urban Challenge

TLDR

Autonomous vehicles promise improved traffic safety, fuel efficiency, and greater mobility for the elderly and disabled, building on two decades of research culminating in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Boss navigates using onboard sensors and pre‑mapped road data to achieve safe, efficient driving. Although the Urban Challenge succeeded, further work remains as the technology moves toward commercialization.

Abstract

This article provides a brief overview of the benefits of autonomous vehicles and Boss, the autonomous vehicle that won the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Autonomous vehicles will improve traffic safety, increase fuel efficiency, and help reconnect the elderly and disabled to our society. Autonomous-vehicle research has been active for the last 20 years, with the recent Urban Challenge building tremendously on past successes. Boss uses onboard sensing and a priori maps of the road environment to navigate safely and effectively. While the Urban Challenge was successful, there is much work to do as this technology becomes increasingly commercialized.