The AnnieWAY

The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for autonomous vehicles, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the central research organization of the United States Department of Defense.

The first Grand Challenge took place on March 13, 2004 on a desert course stretching from Barstow, California to Primm, Nevada, but did not produce a finisher. At the second DARPA Grand Challenge, held on October 8, 2005, the Stanford Racing Team completed the 132-mile course in just under 7 hours to win a $2 million prize.

After the robot cars mastered the desert it is time to conquer the urban landscape. This is at least the plan of DARPA.
The 3rd Grand Challenge competition will be held on November 3, 2007. DARPA will award prizes for the top three autonomous ground vehicles that compete in a final event where they must safely complete a 60 mile urban area course in fewer than six hours. First prize is $2 million, second prize is $500,000 and third prize is $250,000. To succeed, vehicles must autonomously obey traffic laws while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles.