Robot Rally Winner

The Seattle Times:

A driverless Volkswagen was declared the winner yesterday of a $2 million race across the rugged Nevada desert, beating four other robot-guided vehicles that completed a Pentagon-sponsored contest aimed at making warfare safer for humans. The contest displayed major technological leaps since last year's inaugural race, when none of the self-driving vehicles crossed the finish line. Stanley the VW Touareg, designed by Stanford University, zipped through the 132-mile Mojave Desert course in six hours and 53 minutes Saturday, using only its computer brain and sensors to navigate rough and twisting trails. The Stanford team celebrated by popping champagne and pouring it over the mud-covered Stanley.

Way cool. It is amazing how much better all the contestants did than last year.