Via's X86 robots go on the road

DARPA Grand Challenge time again

By INQUIRER staff: Wednesday 20 October 2004, 08:03

CHIP FIRM Via is backing a team called "The Prodigies" as its official entry into the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. The Prodigies - two young lads called Nicholas Hoza (15) and Christopher Medrzycki (20) have built the autonomous vehicle pictured below using a Via EPIA mini-ITX motherboard.

The vehicle, it's claimed, can drive and navigate on its own and cope with the Darpa Grand Challenge - with a prize of $2 million for the winner.

The young guys are showing off the vehicle at the Robonexus 2004 show. The robot, shown below, is certainly smaller than the Intel Itanium car which Chipzilla entered last year. µ