GM-backed college students win US military's robot car race

Sun Nov 4, 6:02 PM ET

VICTORVILLE, United States (AFP) – A robotic car built by private university students backed by General Motors was crowned champion on Sunday of a race sponsored by US military officials intent on putting the technology to work on battlefields by 2015.

Engineering students from Carnegie Mellon University in the US state of Pennsylvania won a two-million-dollar prize for being rated the top finisher in a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency “Urban Challenge” held Saturday.

In a race worthy of a science fiction film, Carnegie Mellon’s “Tartan Racing Team” backed by automotive giant GM stuffed sensors, radar and other electronics into a Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle nicknamed “Boss.”

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“Boss”, a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, heavily modified and robotized by a team of Carnegie Mellon university and General Motors, crosses the finish line in Victorville, California. A robotic car built by private university students backed by General Motors was crowned champion on Sunday of a race sponsored by US military officials intent on putting the technology to work on battlefields by 2015.(AFP/File/Tengi Quemener)