Here we go again

Well, look at this. New layout, new colours, new links, new toys. Still the same author though so maybe the old adage "different day, same shit" will apply.

The idea of having a Guest Blog is to try and force me to be 'creative' each and every day and not cheat by merely posting someone else's hard work and giving a link. I still get the option to showcase the work of those I admire, agree with, support or otherwise deem worthy of such publicity as this blog might give them. So, that is Intent & Purpose defined. Go now and wander about. Get touchy feely. Nothing is going to hurt you.

Credit for what I think is a damn fine template and attached bits goes to Gemmak. She has a button here. I recommend anyone wanting a design or update to anything existing visit with her. Most of what is here only originated in my stubborn head - without the slightest knowledge of what was possible and what was realistic. Gemmak (no - I don't know where the name came from; go ask her) not only told me very plainly when I was asking for the impossible but came up with the next best thing. I have to say that her next best thing was most often superior to my original.

TODAY'S GUEST BLOG

Just looking at what the robots are expected to accomplish prompts me to think, “Did all this initiative come from some decorated wheelie bins in Doctor Who?”

An anonymous reader writes "A European version of the DARPA Grand Challenge is being held in Germany next month. Instead of a race through the desert, the EU challenge is split into three events. Urban, non-urban, and landmine detection will be the 'courses', with multiple winners in each event. Interestingly Sebastian Thrun, winner of last year's Challenge, has been forbidden from taking part despite being a European citizen." From the article: "The trials will take place in and around Hammelburg, a mockup of a town used by the German military for training exercises. In the non-urban course the robots will have to contend with a one-kilometer route containing ditches, barbed wire fences, cattle guards, fires, narrow underpasses, and inclines of up to 40 degrees. The urban and landmine 500-meter trials will require the robots to negotiate doorways, stairs, partially collapsed buildings, and poor visibility from smoke or partial lighting. Along the way, they will also have to search for designated objects and report their findings back to base."