News Release
VIA Sponsors DARPA Grand Challengers "Team LoGHIQ"
Team LoGHIQ to use VIA Mini-ITX mainboard as the PC
brains of their autonomous vehicle in US$1 million race
from Los Angeles to Las Vegas
Taipei, Taiwan, 3 February 2004 - VIA Technologies, Inc,
a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies
and PC platform solutions, today announced the sponsorship
of Team LoGHIQ, contestants in the upcoming Grand Challenge,
an off-road autonomous vehicle race being staged by the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), taking
place on March 13, 2004 and offering US$1 million in prize
money.
Comprising a group of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
graduates and family members living in up-state New York,
Team LoGHIQ have combined their experience in building
solar powered racing vehicles and expertise in mechanical
engineering, physics, computer systems and computer programming
to create their own totally new vehicle "from the
ground up" for the DARPA Grand Challenge, designed
to self-navigate a course between Los Angeles and Las
Vegas in under 10 hours.
"We chose to sponsor Team LoGHIQ because they embody
exactly the intention and pioneer spirit of the DARPA
Grand Challenge," said Timothy Brown, Robotics Program
Manager at VIA Technologies, Inc. "These resourceful
young guys are challenging the establishment by developing
their own potentially disruptive technologies from readily
available parts and components."
"To pit our ideas against the best in the world
in a real life test is the ultimate challenge" said
Seth Cabe, Team Leader for Team LoGHIQ. "Using VIA's
EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard, we've been able to create our
own totally unique vehicle that meets our philosophy of
'fast cheap and in control'"
To keep the enthusiasts and media in touch with Team
LoGHIQ's progress as they approach race day, VIA will
be hosting weekly updates on the VIA Arena website here.
Team LoGHIQ's autonomous vehicle is based on a VIA EPIA
M10000 Mini-ITX mainboard running a stripped down version
of Slackware Linux and will navigate the DARPA Grand Challenge
off-road course using a fusion of stereovision and dead-reckoning
GPS technologies. The VIA EPIA Mini-ITX series of mainboards
is finding its way into several robotic research and commercial
projects due to its compact 17cmx17cm size and low power
draw. Unlike the highly funded challenges by some major
institutions, Team LoGHIQ estimates their total DARPA
Grand Challenge project budget at less than US$50,000.
Of the original 106 teams entering the DARPA Grand Challenge
for 25 race positions, Team LoGHIQ was one of 19 immediately
selected to participate in the final "Qualification,
Inspection & Demonstration" (QID) week to be
held just prior to the main March event, which all contestants
must successfully complete in order to demonstrate the
safety and functionality of their vehicle. Other qualifying
teams include Carnegie Mellon University's "Red Team"
and Team Caltech.
For more information about the DARPA Grand Challenge
including rules, qualified teams and event schedules,
please visit the DARPA website at: http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/index.htm
About the VIA Robotics Initiative
The VIA Robotics Initiative is the first phase of VIA's
efforts to promote PC architecture and VIA platforms for
the robotics industry. By working together on projects
of all levels with the academic, commercial and enthusiast
communities using existing VIA EPIA-Series mainboards,
VIA is validating design strategies that are highly applicable
for today's robot markets while laying the groundwork
for platform advances that will continue to progress the
future development of robot-specific technologies and
products into mainstream markets.
The VIA Robotics Initiative plays an important role for
defining the longer-term direction of VIA's "Total
Connectivity" message. Robot and PC industry watchers
can expect to see a series of projects and product announcements
over the next year.
For more details about the VIA Robotics initiative please
click here.
About the VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX Mainboard
The VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX mainboard is the second-generation
17cm x 17cm platform optimized for today's killer digital
video, audio and more complex processor intensive applications.
In addition to its integrated 1GHz VIA C3 processor, the
board features the VIA CLE266 chipset with embedded MPEG-2
decoder and a new integrated 2D/3D graphics engine to
ensure smooth DVD playback and a rich overall entertainment
experience. With the sizable memory bandwidth of DDR266
SDRAM and the high data transfer speeds of ATA-133, the
VIA EPIA M10000 ensures the high performance levels required
of today's most popular digital media and productivity
applications. The user's digital media experience is further
enhanced by support for 5.1 surround sound, courtesy of
the onboard VIA Vinyl Six-TRAC Audio.
The latest in high-bandwidth connectivity is supported
with IEEE 1394 and USB2.0 connections, as well as S-Video
and RCA TV-Out (NTSC & PAL) and 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet
for seamless broadband connectivity. The VIA EPIA M-Series
also offers support for a growing number of LVDS embedded
LCD panels, has a PCI slot for expandability options,
and is compatible with a full range of Mini-ITX chassis
as well as FlexATX and MicroATX enclosures. It is also
compatible with Microsoft® Windows® 2K/ME/XP and
a variety of Linux-based operating systems.
The VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX mainboard is available in
volume now from VIA's global distribution partners listed
here: http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=242, including leading
US online stores www.mwave.com, www.newegg.com, and www.outpost.com,
at an estimated retail price of US$199. For more information
on the full range of VIA EPIA M-Series Mini-ITX mainboards
please visit: www.viavpsd.com/product/epia_m_spec.jsp?motherboardId=81
About Team LoGHIQ
They are a small but competent team based in upstate
NY, comprised of the following members: a mechanical engineer,
a physics teacher, a computer systems guru, a physicist,
and two computer science professionals. Their technical
paper was accepted completely, and so they were guaranteed
a spot at the DARPA Grand Challenge QID. We will be testing
the vehicle in upstate NY during the coming months. Our
race entry is a large 4-wheeled vehicle that is designed
"from the ground up"; that is it has not been
modified from any existing vehicle. For more information
about Team LoGHIQ please visit their website at:
http://www.cabecomposites.com/team.html
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