Little Ben, the Car that Drives Itself
Who is Little Ben? No, he’s not your typical kid from the neighborhood. Little Ben is in fact, a silver-gray Toyota Prius that can drive itself home. The latest innovation in military technology, Little Ben is currently undergoing sophisticated tests at Lehigh University and is being perfected in preparation for its great race at DARPA’s Urban Challenge.
The U.S. military is in great hope that Little Ben will be contributing to the reduction of the number of lives lost in supply mission in war zones.
Lehigh University, specifically a parking lot near the Rauch, Fieldhouse, has been the testing grounds for Little Ben, for the past couple of months. Little Ben is continuously being developed by defense contractor Lockheed Martin together with the engineers from Lehigh, the University of Pennsylvania.
Last month, Little Ben went practicing three-point turns and stopping at several checkpoints as its programmers requested. The tests are currently being held at the Lehigh University’s Goodman campus, according to mcall.com. And although somebody has been set to sit at the wheel, unlike your typical car with its Saab clutch nobody is manually operating the car.
Little Ben is programmed to see in three dimensions and pick out other vehicles, curbs and obstacles with the help of the collaboration of computer program, lasers and global positioning system.
Dan Lee, a Lehigh assistant professor of computer science and engineering with a doctorate from Penn and a Penn professor who leads the Ben Franklin racing team with John Spletzer of Lehigh (phew… such a long title he’s holding), said, “We didn’t optimize the car for comfort.” He has brought the two universities together for a distinct international competition (DARPA’s Urban Challenge), where they would be able to bring home as much as $2 million from the US government.
“In 2001, Congress mandated replacing one-third of the military’s ground combat fleet with driverless vehicles by 2015. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA – whose grants have led to such technologies as the Internet and stealth aircraft – sponsored the first two robot races in 2004 and 2005, breaking new ground for driverless vehicles,” said in the source.
Aware and concerned about this, Spletzer said, “We have these soldiers in places like Iraq who are being maimed and killed… We could replace some of these drivers with driverless vehicles to move supplies, so that fewer soldiers are at risk of being killed by a roadside bomb.”
They believe that the Urban Challenge would be a great entry to start moving towards their vision. With all efforts given, Little Ben is hoped to make it qualify to the semifinals.
Lee said, “In the future you’ll see much more automation in cars to help drivers, especially people who are disabled… Maybe your car will drive you home after you’ve had too much to drink”
At DARPA, a lot of tough competitors will be gathering. Various unique vehicles will be representing each team.
For Lehigh, the Toyota Prius was the best choice, since it has a large battery pack that could run numerous electronic devices. And, since it is a hybrid, efficiency is a great point.
Well, I would personally be waiting for the moment of truth and hope that Little Ben would make it on top of the Big Race.
