DARPA sponsored race a miserable failiure

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RagingBITCH

Lifer
Sep 27, 2003
17,619
2
76
Originally posted by: cerebusPu
darpa does lots of way cool stuff. dissipate can stick the $1million up his ass.

No way - that'd be a waste of his and other taxpayer's money, much like this race :D
 

Dissipate

Diamond Member
Jan 17, 2004
6,815
0
0
Originally posted by: br0wn
Originally posted by: Dissipate

What makes you think the government needs to develop this, genius? All of this money is better off in private hands, the market can decide the optimum amount to put towards R&D projects.

I fully support this kind of project as it accelerates the development in the field. It has applications way beyond military use.
Internet was spun-off as a DARPA supported project, is that a waste of the tax dollars also?

Yep. We can only speculate what the market would have done with it. However, I can tell you there are many economists that have shown that government intervention is always less efficient than the market.

Got a book for you to read:
Man Economy and State

Keynesian economics has been debunked. Sorry to tell you.
 

CanOWorms

Lifer
Jul 3, 2001
12,404
2
0
Originally posted by: beer
Originally posted by: CanOWorms
There are already vehicles that have traveled all the way across the country on interstates by themselves. So I'd think that eventually they'd get this done, too.

Link?? I call shens.

Do a search on Google for Dr. Takeo Kanade from Carnegie-Mellon Univ and check out his research and Navlab (I think that's what the van was called). It's been out there for a while, I think there was even a dateline or 20/20 type TV report on it.

People were in the van just in case, but it drove across the country 99% of the time.
 

Rumpltzer

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2003
4,815
33
91
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Wow, another great use of U.S. tax dollars.

These are all privately funded teams competing in the race, genius.

The $1 million prize is provied by DARPA a government agency, genius.
See, my research has been funded by DARPA for the past two years. I've previously been funded by the ONR, AFOSR, and the NSF. A $1 million "prize" rather than up-front funding is kind of a new concept for me. DARPA usually publicizes a call for papers on a certain problem that they're looking to solve. They take in the papers and then pick the top twenty or so to come and present their ideas. Then they fund maybe five of those ideas.

In this race project, DARPA put up no money at all and got all this research done. DAPRA got a good deal on other people's money. Kinda sneaky.

Funding stuff through DARPA, the ONR, AFOSR and whatever is a good deal for the government (read, the military). They get a lot of cheap grad student labor and come up with innovations that keep the US (read, the military) about fifteen years ahead of the world in technology. They do it 'cause they can afford it.

They fund projects that came up with stupid stuff like RADAR and the Internet.

Did any private companies participate or was it just universities? I don't see companies joining in for such a "small" prize. It's not worth what they'd need to invest.
 

Dissipate

Diamond Member
Jan 17, 2004
6,815
0
0
Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Wow, another great use of U.S. tax dollars.

These are all privately funded teams competing in the race, genius.

The $1 million prize is provied by DARPA a government agency, genius.

They fund projects that came up with stupid stuff like RADAR and the Internet.

Keynesian economics has been debunked, read above. My uncle got money from DARPA for one of his projects (he is a physicist) because no other investor would invest in his project. I can tell you right now from first hand experience my uncle is NOT the kind of person who should have received this money. He has good ideas, is a good physicist, but his ego is the size of the universe, he does not work well with others and just sucks at managing a company.

DARPA shut off his funds, but he should have NEVER gotten any money in the first place. The private sector had already decided it wasn't worth it the government should have followed suit.

 

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
15,581
1
76
i don't get it, in the day of GPS and cruise missiles, this doesn't seem THAT hard to do.
 

Falloutboy

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2003
5,916
0
71
Originally posted by: OS
i don't get it, in the day of GPS and cruise missiles, this doesn't seem THAT hard to do.

actually an autonomous aircraft is a hell of a lot easier. not many obsticals in the air.
 

Dissipate

Diamond Member
Jan 17, 2004
6,815
0
0
Originally posted by: beer
IIRC Dissapate supports the ($100,000,000,000+) Iraq war but is compaining about less than a thousanth of a percent of that as an incentive for fairly worthwhile govenment research? Who's priorities are out of whack, eh?

WTF? Where did you get that from? I've been saying from the get go American troops should be pulled out of every country.
 

beer

Lifer
Jun 27, 2000
11,169
1
0
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: beer
IIRC Dissapate supports the ($100,000,000,000+) Iraq war but is compaining about less than a thousanth of a percent of that as an incentive for fairly worthwhile govenment research? Who's priorities are out of whack, eh?

WTF? Where did you get that from? I've been saying from the get go American troops should be pulled out of every country.

I posted it and then searched the threads and wasn't able to collaborate it. So I edited it out. I could have sworn but I probably made a mistake between you and some other grinch icon :)
 

andylawcc

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
18,185
3
81
Originally posted by: CanOWorms
Originally posted by: beer
Originally posted by: CanOWorms
There are already vehicles that have traveled all the way across the country on interstates by themselves. So I'd think that eventually they'd get this done, too.

Link?? I call shens.

Do a search on Google for Dr. Takeo Kanade from Carnegie-Mellon Univ and check out his research and Navlab (I think that's what the van was called). It's been out there for a while, I think there was even a dateline or 20/20 type TV report on it.

People were in the van just in case, but it drove across the country 99% of the time.


i would be scared shitless if I were in the van...
 

andylawcc

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
18,185
3
81
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: SSP
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Wow, another great use of U.S. tax dollars.

These are all privately funded teams competing in the race, genius.

The $1 million prize is provied by DARPA a government agency, genius.

If the government tried to develop the vehicle them selves, it would cost them more then a million, genius.

What makes you think the government needs to develop this, genius? All of this money is better off in private hands, the market can decide the optimum amount to put towards R&D projects.


WHAO! SIX geniuses in a thread! that's the most I've seen :p :)

 

Dissipate

Diamond Member
Jan 17, 2004
6,815
0
0
Originally posted by: beer
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: beer
IIRC Dissapate supports the ($100,000,000,000+) Iraq war but is compaining about less than a thousanth of a percent of that as an incentive for fairly worthwhile govenment research? Who's priorities are out of whack, eh?

WTF? Where did you get that from? I've been saying from the get go American troops should be pulled out of every country.

I posted it and then searched the threads and wasn't able to collaborate it. So I edited it out. I could have sworn but I probably made a mistake between you and some other grinch icon :)

Ok, well to be perfectly honest, I haven't always had the view that troops should be pulled out of countries. But then I became more "enlightened" about government and its purpose so to speak.

 

Dissipate

Diamond Member
Jan 17, 2004
6,815
0
0
Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
if you'd like to put this $1 million prize into context, consider that a single tomahawk cruise missile costs about $1 million.

about 300 fired into iraq over the past year.

ka-boom.

I agree. A big waste of money. The United States has now taken on the role of World Police and its costing us billions. Other countries are sitting back, not trying to police the world and saving their money. Most of them are probably laughing at how much money the U.S. taxpayers have spent trying to instill morality on the rest of the world.

The amount doesn't matter though, its the principle.

 

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
15,581
1
76
Originally posted by: Falloutboy525
Originally posted by: OS
i don't get it, in the day of GPS and cruise missiles, this doesn't seem THAT hard to do.

actually an autonomous aircraft is a hell of a lot easier. not many obsticals in the air.

yeah but it is 15+ year old technology.

 

WinkOsmosis

Banned
Sep 18, 2002
13,990
0
0
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Wow, another great use of U.S. tax dollars.

These are all privately funded teams competing in the race, genius.

The $1 million prize is provied by DARPA a government agency, genius.

$1 million is nothing. I can't believe they expected anything decent with that meagre prize.
 

Spencer278

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 2002
3,637
0
0
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: Dissipate
Wow, another great use of U.S. tax dollars.

These are all privately funded teams competing in the race, genius.

The $1 million prize is provied by DARPA a government agency, genius.

They fund projects that came up with stupid stuff like RADAR and the Internet.

Keynesian economics has been debunked, read above. My uncle got money from DARPA for one of his projects (he is a physicist) because no other investor would invest in his project. I can tell you right now from first hand experience my uncle is NOT the kind of person who should have received this money. He has good ideas, is a good physicist, but his ego is the size of the universe, he does not work well with others and just sucks at managing a company.

DARPA shut off his funds, but he should have NEVER gotten any money in the first place. The private sector had already decided it wasn't worth it the government should have followed suit.

The problem with just letting the private sector develop stuff with out funding from the goverment is that the goverment might have different needs then the private sector. Isn't this challange having the private sector do the work and then the goverment buying a succiveful design at 1 million dollars?
 

spanner

Senior member
Jun 11, 2001
464
0
0
I can't believe the responses on this forum. I was a member of one of the qualifying teams (VA tech). This was a genuine effort to generate innovation and interest in a very important field of research. I think on average, competitiors learn't more then a full college education in a matter of months. In the big picture of things, $1000000 is chump change. I am sure you will change your minds when soldiers stop dying running convoys in Iraq. Traffic jams and accidents are a thing of the past and when your car can drive otherwise drunk drivers home. The grand challenge was never meant to be a one time event. It will go on for year and someone will get it done. The teams including us got unlucky. Also to all of you who think this is easy, maybe you should try to compete. This competition is open to everyone.