AllMovie

Welcome to the DARPA Grand Challenge, a most unusual race sponsored by the Pentagon where the only qualifying factor is that no one be behind the steering wheel of the vehicles that compete. Set on a scorching, 130-mile stretch of Nevada desert and staged to experiment with new concepts in unmanned warfare, the DARPA Grand Challenge offers a hearty $2 million to the team that crosses the finish line first. With each vehicle participating in the race being propelled by such cutting-edge technology as laser-guided vision, artificial intelligence, and 3D mapping, the frequent glitches and system crashes ensure that the engineers behind these remarkable machines will have to earn every penny of the impressive prize as they struggle to meet stringent deadlines and strive to keep their machines running in the intense desert heat.