The Golem Group

I found myself rooting for Golem I, the underdog described at the [DARPA] press conference as "the little engine that could."
-- Mark Sedenquist, RoadTrip America

In the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge, the Golem Group successfully completed 5.2 miles before running into a problem with the throttle control. A safety limit we imposed on the accelerator was too restrictive and on a steep incline, the robot would not push the throttle enough to get over the hill. Nevertheless, Golem 1 traveled further than all but three competitors, and will be back with improved technology and improved throttle control in 2005!

Results from the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge

Vehicle 22	Red Team	Reached mile 7.4	Vehicle went off course, got caught on an obstacle and rubber on the front wheels caught fire, which was quickly extinguished. Vehicle has been disabled.
Vehicle 21	SciAutonicsII	Reached mile 6.7	Vehicle went into an embankment and became stuck. Vehicle has been disabled, and the team has recovered it.
Vehicle 7	Digital Auto Drive	Reached mile 6.0	Vehicle was paused to allow a wrecker to get through, and, upon restarting, sensors were not able to determine the proper route. After sensors tried unsuccessfully for three hours, vehicle was disabled.
Vehicle 9	The Golem Group	Reached mile 5.2	Vehicle stopped. Vehicle had a throttle problem while going up a hill. After trying for 50 minutes, the vehicle was disabled.
Vehicle 5	Team Caltech	Reached mile 1.3	Vehicle went through a fence, and couldn't come back through. Vehicle has been disabled, and the team has recovered it.
Vehicle 20	Team TerraMax	Reached mile 1.2	Vehicle started backing up and after .5 miles, the vehicle was disabled.
Vehicle 17	SciAutonics I	Reached mile 0.75	Vehicle went off the route. After sensors tried unsuccessfully for 90 minutes to reacquire the route, without any movement, vehicle was disabled.
Vehicle 4	Team CIMAR	Reached mile 0.45	Vehicle ran into some wire and got totally wrapped up in it. Vehicle has been disabled.
Vehicle 25	Virginia Tech	-	Vehicle brakes locked up in the start area. Vehicle has been removed from the course.
Vehicle 23	Team CajunBot	-	Vehicle circled the wrong way in the start area. Vehicle has been removed from the course.
Vehicle 2	Axion Racing	-	Vehicle brushed a wall on its way out of the chute. Vehicle has been removed from the course.
Vehicle 13	Team ENSCO	-	Vehicle flipped in the start area, experienced a fuel leak, and the team needed to shut off the fuel. Vehicle has been removed from the course.
Vehicle 10	Palos Verdes High School Road Warriors	-	Vehicle has been removed from the course - it hit a wall in the start area
Vehicle 15	Team TerraHawk	-	Withdrew prior to start.
Vehicle 16	The Blue Team	-	Withdrew prior to start.

2004 Sponsors

We would also like to thank the following for their generous donations to our 2004 race effort:

Federal Signal: Heavy Duty Products
Indigo Systems: Infrared Thermal Imaging Sensors and Cameras.
Kenyon Labs: Makers of Kenyon Gyro Stabilizers. Get Stabilized!
OmniSTAR: The National DGPS Service.
Nick Pace, your guide to dive bars in the Mojave Desert and around the world.
Prime Resource, Inc.: Distributors of the 80/20 System.