DARPA – the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – is part of the US Dept. of Defense. In recent years, the agency has funded a series of challenges intended to encourage innovation in various technologies that could be used by the military.

There have been two Grand Challenges for Autonomous Vehicles. The first one was held on March 13, 2004. None of the entrants completed the 132-mile course through the Mojave Desert, so the prize money – $1 million – was not awarded. Another one was held on October 8, 2005. This time, the prize was $2 million, and the Stanford racing team won it by completing the course in 6 hours, 53 minutes.