Join NOVA for an exclusive backstage pass to the DARPA Grand Challenge—a
raucous race for robotic, driverless vehicles sponsored by the Pentagon, which
awards a $2 million purse to the winning team. Armed with artificial
intelligence, laser-guided vision, GPS navigation, and 3-D mapping systems, the
contenders are some of the world's most advanced robots. Yet even their
formidable technology and mechanical prowess may not be enough to overcome the
grueling 130-mile course through Nevada's desert terrain. From concept to
construction to the final competition, "The Great Robot Race" delivers the
absorbing inside story of clever engineers and their unyielding drive to create
a champion, capturing the only aerial footage that exists of the Grand
Challenge