On May 18 Stanford announced its entry in the DARPA Grand Challenge, a 175-mile driverless race across the Mojave Desert. It’s a gray Volkswagen Touareg, a state-of-the-art sport utility vehicle modified with oversized wheels, a reinforced bumper and a protective metal plate under the car. The fuel-efficient turbodiesel engine allows the vehicle to complete a 10-hour race and power all its electronics on a single tank of gas. And unlike many competitors, Stanley is fully street legal. The Grand Challenge, which is scheduled for Oct. 8, will pit 20 robotic competitors on an unpredictable, obstacle-filled course.

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