The start of the robot race was miraculous. One by one when the judges dropped the yellow strap of the starting line, unmanned vehicles moved under their own intelligence, and accelerated into the wilderness avoiding cement barriers and overcoming grates cattle can't cross.

Most of the vehicles used were normal SUVs; hummer, pick-ups, a tahoe and an acura. Some were unfamiliar machines, an Israeli sand rail, and there was something with 6 wheels and a rack of antlers containing radar and cameras. The biggest racer was "Terramax" an Osh Kosh fire truck.

Disappointingly, the race was over in 45 minutes. The best competitor ("Sandstorm" from Carnegie-Mellon) made it 7 miles into the 142 mile course before falling off the road and getting stuck. Other entries strayed off the trail getting caught in the sage brush and barbed wire. Two spectacular failures happened at the start line as "Cliff" from Virginia Tech emitted smoke as engine gunned while the brakes firmly held it stationary. Then "David" from TEAM ENSCO took off with more speed and resolve than earlier racers only to capsize on a dirt berm 100 yds down the road.

Then there were the less impressive entries. "Cajunbot" from U of Louisiana immediately hit the wall. "Doom Buggy" from Palos Verde High School did the same. "Ghost rider" a riderless motorcyle made it about 3 inches, then fell over.

Maybe next year someone will win the $1,000,000.