Ghostrider

The 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge is a 130 mile desert course – while this might seem mild compared to the Baja 1000 or other similiar off-road courses, what makes the DARPA Grand Challenge special is that the racers have to complete the course entirely without human control. That’s right – robots.

There’s a whole load of videos over at The Great Robot Race‘s website, but there is one participant that stands out from the rest. Out of 12 participants which consisted of all-wheel drive machines, there was only one two-wheeler – the Ghostrider from Blue Team, which is a computer controlled motorcycle.

Using an array of sensors, high speed high resolution 3D-capable cameras and a gyro to help maintain balance, the Ghostrider navigated the DARPA Grand Challenge course using GPS. Watch a video of the Ghostrider after the jump, and the rest of the participants over at The Great Robot Race.

VIDEO: Ghostrider: the robotic motorcycle

This video podcast was produced and edited by Joe Seamans. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Major funding for NOVA is provided by Google and BP. Special funding for NOVA podcasts is provided by the MacArthur Foundation.

For more on the DARPA Grand Challenge, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/darpa/

To watch it online, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/darpa/program.html

Many more videos of the Ghost Rider from the team that built it here: http://www.ghostriderrobot.com/index.php?id=robot&pid=videos

Hat tip to Biker Voodoo.