I'm going to join the Red Team

Philips Applied Technologies (the place I work at) sends me and another colleague to join the Red Team for two months. The Red Team is participating in the DARPA Grand Challenge (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). From the website:

"The 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge will be held on October 8, 2005 in the desert Southwest. The team that develops an autonomous ground vehicle that finishes the designated route most quickly within 10 hours will receive $2 million. The route will be no more than 175 miles over desert terrain featuring natural and man-made obstacles. The exact route will not be revealed until two hours before the event begins."

This means we (Fran and Hannah too of course !) will spend two months in Pittsburgh (PA) at the Carnegie and Mellon (http://www.cmu.edu) university. I'll be working on the control of the 'gimbal'. A platform for sensors that is stabilized by a 3 axis servo system. We hope to leave for the US around the end of March.

I really look forward to get involved in this !

More details will follow, we are now busy with passports / visa's etc.