December 27, 2005: For UGVs (unmanned ground vehicles), some serious technical progress has been made, in the last few years, The big breakthrough has been in the computer software that enables the vehicle to recognize obstacles, and get around them. A practical example of this was the October, 2005 DARPA 211 kilometer race for UGVs. The 2004 race had no one finishing the course. But in 2005, 22 percent of the entrants finished, while 35 percent failed because of vehicle mechanical problems. Another 27 percent failed because of some system problem (sensors, control equipment), with the rest dropping out because of mechanical problems. What this makes clear is that a major problem with UGVs will be the basic reliability of the vehicle itself. Almost all money and effort is going into the software, and navigation and control systems controlled by it. But the failure rate for the vehicles themselves reminded everyone that a human driver does more than avoid obstacles, and stay on course. The human driver also keeps the vehicle from getting banged around a lot. Partly, this is self-interest. If the vehicle bounces, so do the passengers. So UGVs can't just navigate to keep moving, they have to find the most comfortable route as well.
There are already many UGVs in operation. But these are following known courses over floors or smooth ground. For true cross country, or rough road, operations, the UGV has to be able to find the least punishing route as well.
