TEACH A ROBOT TO DRIVE, WIN A MILLION BUCKS! government will pay big money for robotic vehicles.(News)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

Imagine R2-D2 and C-3PO piloting a desert truck in an off-road race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas with a $1 million first prize dangling in front of them.

No, this is not the latest reality television show plot or some wacky promoter's scam-unless you consider the United States government a wacky promoter. It's the DARPA Grand Challenge for Autonomous Robotic Ground Vehicles (www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge). DARPA is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, sort of the big research-and-development clearinghouse for the military. DARPA is the same acronym that brought us everything from smart bombs and Stealth fighters to the Internet. Now DARPA wants robot-controlled Jeeps so that fewer humans need to go in harm's way in future wars.

Problem is there are no robot Jeeps yet. There are remote-controlled vehicles and robotic submarines, but nothing that can navigate on its own over a 250-mile desert course in less than 10 hours, the gauntlet DARPA is mandating for the prize. Hence, the Grand Challenge.

``I believe that somewhere out there are some kids or maybe some people in government who have something that can do this,'' said DARPA's Anthony Tether.

Asked what form such a vehicle might take, Tether replied straightforwardly, ``I don't have the slightest idea.''

DARPA held a ``Competitors' Conference'' recently in ...