Discovery Channel Is Tracking Insight Racing’s ‘Lone Wolf’

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N.C. State University News Services

RALEIGH, N.C. - In a race that can only be described as futuristic, the N.C. State-sponsored Insight Racing team will field a driverless Lotus Elise to compete in the 2007 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge.

The team’s modified Lotus Elise sports car with sensors and on-board computers has been selected to be chronicled by the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet show as the team prepares for the race. The Elise must autonomously maneuver through an urban setting complete with traffic, stoplights and traffic circles; pass other vehicles; and follow traffic laws — all without the help of a human.

The product of a collaboration among Insight Technologies Inc., Lotus Engineering Inc., N.C. State University’s College of Engineering and the Advanced Vehicle Research Center (AVRC), the technology that will guide the Elise through city streets may one day revolutionize not only the way the military performs missions but also the way that commuters drive to work each day.

The team recently spent several hours with Discovery Channel at Lotus Engineering in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Elise, named the “Lone Wolf,” was taped driving on the “rolling road,” successfully performing simulated missions that represent conditions that will be seen in the actual race. Several members of the team were filmed setting up the simulations, explaining the race challenges and describing how this complex development is done. The Discovery Channel is expected to film the next segment in North Carolina.

Sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Grand Challenge competition was created to answer a congressional mandate to convert one-third of the military vehicles to driverless, computer-driven mode by 2015. The objective of the competition is to have teams design a completely autonomous vehicle that can maneuver through an urban setting while avoiding obstacles with no human assistance. The technology developed for the race will help DARPA reach its goal of having the autonomous vehicles perform missions that currently put military personnel in harm’s way.

“Lotus Engineering is excited by our collective progress towards solving the Urban Challenge,” said Don Graunstadt, chief executive officer and president of Lotus Engineering. “We have a strong relationship which brings many types of engineering talents together in our Lotus Elise entry. Driving exciting technology leadership is the foundation of activities at Lotus Engineering.”

“Led by NC State University, Lotus, Insight Technologies, Inc., and the Advanced Vehicle Research Center, all of our partners have been enthusiastic contributors to this project. The success of collaborative efforts is due to the commitment of each participant, and our partners; contributions have been first class,” said Grayson Randall, Insight Racing founder. “Already we can see how this smart vehicle technology will ultimately change how we drive in the not-too-distant future.”

The only team representing North Carolina in the 2005 Grand Challenge, the Insight Racing team will now face several elimination rounds to advance to the final Urban Challenge event in November 2007. The next elimination round includes a video of the Lone Wolf demonstrating many of the driving behaviors needed in the November event. That video is due in April.

“Our development is progressing well, and we are very pleased with the performance of the Lone Wolf. We are fortunate to have a top performing vehicle and a highly talented team composed of students from NC State University, Lotus, members of the Triangle technical community and retired business executives,” says Randall.

Other sponsors include Comtrol, SICK, Ascot Technologies, Inc., BD Micro, PC MedEvac and Smith Anderson.