SELF DRIVEN: IEOR alum Anthony Levandowski is putting together a team of Berkeley engineers to build a self-driving vehicle. The team will enter their vehicle into a high stakes government-sponsored contest in March.

IEOR alum puts together a Berkeley team for the ultimate robot roadtrip

When the defense contractors couldn’t do it, the U.S. Defense Department decided to tap an alternative resource. They opened up the challenge to anyone willing to try it. IEOR alum (B.S. ’02 M.S. ’03) Anthony Levandowski is game.

A prize of one million dollars will go to the first vehicle to cross the finish line after traveling a 250 mile off-road desert course. The vehicle must finish in less than 10 hours with no driver or remote control to guide it.

The contest was spurred by a Congressional mandate that calls for one-third of military ground combat vehicles to operate unassisted by 2015. When developed, this technology would also be used for nonmilitary applications, enabling cars to drive themselves.

Levandowski found out last week that his Berkeley-based team, dubbed Blue, has passed the preliminary cut in qualifying for the government Grand Challenge competition.

The team must build a vehicle that can see, steer, accelerate, brake, and navigate without outside assistance except external guidance from a Global Positioning System.

Levandowski has been putting the Blue team together for more than a year. Currently the team has 24 members comprised of students that are one third EECS, one third ME, and one third ChemE, BioE, math, and business.

A technology that would enable a machine to guide itself at a decent speed across obstacle-laden terrain is still science fiction. Despite copious preparation and talent, no team is assured victory. It is likely that this March the Grand Challenge, will not produce a winner. In that case, the contest will be held every year until a winner is named.

As for funding, Levandowski is footing the bill for the entire project.

Though he willingly admits that Blue’s chance of victory is not a sure bet, he says that he’s not doing it for the prize money. Not only is he drawn by the challenge of building a technology that no one else could build, but he also has entrepreneurial plans.

“This is larger than a project or club. This is the beginning of a company,” Levandowski says.

Students working on Blue not only get a great hands-on learning experience, but they also have the chance to get in on the ground floor of a new tech company, he adds.

Occassionally the team is followed by cameras. A television show is filming the development process of three teams; Blue, Carnegie Mellon and Cal Tech. The later teams are considered contest favorites based on a combination of technical prowess and generous funding. Carnegie Melon has raised five million dollars and Cal Tech has the backing of a large defense contractor and NASA.

The Blue team might not have the resources of their competitors but they do have a secret weapon up their sleeve.
While he remains tight lipped, Levandowski does hint that his team’s vehicle won’t be like the others.

“We’re taking a nontraditional approach to demonstrate the innovation that is coming out of Berkeley,” he says.

For more info e-mail Levandowski at anthony@levandowski.us

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