NOVA | The Great Robot Race | Meet the Teams

Red Team
Robots: "Sandstorm" & "H1ghlander"
Body: 1986 Humvee & 1999 H1 Hummer

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Affiliation: Carnegie Mellon University

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

Leaders: Prof. Red Whittaker, Kevin Peterson, Chris Urmson

Team size: 100+

Budget: Priceless

Key technologies: Software for swerving at high speeds; long-range laser stabilized on motion platform; topographic terrain mapping; optimized preplanning of route; speed setting to achieve intended elapsed time; multifusion to combine sensor data; hydraulic actuators

Biggest challenge(s): Coming back after rollover; getting two robots to the finish line

Race results: Sandstorm: 2nd Place (finished course in 7:05) H1ghlander: 3rd Place (finished course in 7:14)

What they're up to now: Creating robots to develop, secure, and feed the world, and explore worlds beyond. Launching "Robot City" at the site in Pittsburgh where Sandstorm and H1ghlander ran in preparation for the Grand Challenge. Developing robots for mining, agriculture, exploration, researching, high-performance autonomous driving, touring the show circuit. Teaching, publishing, researching

Where the vehicle is now: In addition to stopping at road shows in Chicago, Tucson, San Francisco, and Peoria, both Sandstorm and H1ghlander are field testing in Robot City.