Wired Magazine has just published a list of the best robots around. The list consists of 50 bots, some real and some fictional. Appearing at number 1, as well as being the best “real” robot, is Stanley, the driverless car that won the DARPA Grand Challenge for 2005. Stanley is regarded as a paean to recent advances in AI for having autonomously navigated a 131.6-mile obstacle course in the middle of the Mojave Desert in under 10 hours. The Stanford Racing Team at Stanford University built Stanley, and was awarded DARPA’s two million dollar prize for their winning efforts on October 9, 2005.

At third place on Wired’s list of best robots are the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers. [Second spot was actually awarded to that fictional animated Japanese crime-fighting robot, Astro Boy - so one could argue that the twin rovers are in fact the second best "real" robots. ]

Spirit and Opportunity were designed and built by NASA’s superlative Jet Propulsion Laboratory, launched in the summer of 2003 and both landed safely on Mars in January of 2004. The fact that both rovers remain nearly-fully-functional after enduring two Martian winters is a testament to JPL’s outstanding build quality, and hints at the probability that both machines were somewhat over-spec’d.

The image shows Opportunity’s self-shadow in the Martian sun of July 26, 2004. It must be embarrassing to to have your $820M program be bested by a cartoon character.

The 50 Best Robots Ever - Wired Magazine, January 2006 Issue

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