We are at the race site!

Chek out our photostream: www.flickr.com/groups/sting-racing

Today the core Georgia Tech and SAIC team members arrived at the former George Air Force Base. There was quite a bit of logistical work in the morning: We split up in teams; One team picked up Sting at the Porsche dealer, another team went to the RV center and picked up our headquarters RV and propane. We then drove the rest of the way to the race site for check in.

On the drive up we noticed that we emerged out of the dreary smoke in the LA basin out to blue sky in the high desert. When we arrived at check in we got our ID badges and schedule. Also we were assigned pit area 104 and began to set up camp. The pit area is about the size of 10 parking spaces. We’ve arranged a “garage” for Sting, our R/V, a tent, and some chairs. It is quite comfy, the airconditioning in the R/V is especially pleasant.

We’ve been working today on calibration, to make sure all the sensors are still aligned, and scouting out the test sites as much as possible. It seems that the car made the trip to CA reasonably intact (except for some minor scratches) and the cameras and lidars are behaving according to plan.

After the first day at the competition site, we’re feeling rather good about our chances and it is clear that we at least have the best looking vehicle. It has been drawing crowds all day. It has also been a lot of fun checking out our competition and it is really exciting to be around so many impressive looking robots.

The Sting Racing team has arrived in California

Today the team members from Sting Racing arrived in the San Bernardino area. During final approach it was easy to see the smoke from the forest fires. Actually, during a significant part of the day the interstate 15 was closed for north bound traffic. The road opened again during the evening. I-15 is the road from Los Angeles to drive to Victorville, CA where the race takes place. Let’s hope it is open tomorrow!

Our car “Sting 1″ has arrived at Walter’s Porsche in Riverside – Thank you Intercity Lines! We checked out the car at the dealership. The car will be picked up tomorrow for driving to Victorville, CA.

.

During the day various items were acquired – canopy, deck chairs, water, snacks, … to allow setup of a pit area at the base. The task for tomorrow is setup of pit area, calibrate sensors, and do early testing of the system.

The team is staying at the Hampton Inn in Colton, CA.

Stay tuned!

The team heads out…

The Sting Racing team is leaving tomorrow for Victorville to compete in the DARPA Urban Challenge on November 3rd. It’s going to be a tough race and this is our first time competing, but people are saying we’re the team to watch. It’s been a long year+ preparing for this and we’re excited. Last week the car was wrapped for competition – all the photos from before and after are on our Sting Racing Flickr site.

Read the “team leaves” press release.

Road trip for Sting 1

Sting 1 is on her way to California, tucked safely in the back of an 18 wheeler. This is one good looking Porsche Cayenne!