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Streetwise: Revolutionary
unmanned vehicle is a hometown creation
July 1, 2007
Streetwise has discovered firsthand that
TerraMax drives like, well, someone who just got their learners permit.
The difference between Oshkosh Truck Corp.'s
TerraMax and the guy that gave Streetwise whiplash in high school driver's ed — 30 mph to a dead stop hurts by the
fourth time — is that it'd be a little hard to get the entire truck into the little driver's license photo.
In case you do not know, TerraMax is Truck's unmanned ground vehicle. It drives itself using stereo cameras,
Global Positioning Systems and Light Detection and Ranging, or LIDAR, to follow programmed routes, avoid stationary and moving
obstacles and to follow the rules of the road.
The crew working on TerraMax is hoping it earns a spot in DARPA's
Urban Challenge for robotic or unmanned vehicles late this year and in Streetwise's amateur opinion, it deserves the chance
to show what it can do.
The most important part of TerraMax is it will eventually help keep more troops out of
harm's way. A vehicle that drives itself might get blown up and supplies lost, but no people get captured, hurt or killed.
Sure, it's in the early stages of development right now, but an Oshkosh company is leading the way.
And that is our whole point besides giving a well-deserved pat on the back to Team TerraMax. As we sat in the cab of that
truck watching the machine drive itself, we were struck by the ingenuity, creativity and innovation needed to make something
like that happen.
It's happening here. In Oshkosh. Not in Chicago, North Carolina, the Silicon Valley or any
of those attention-hogs of cities.
Streetwise is betting it is happening elsewhere in this city, too. There have
to be other TerraMax-like projects going on at your company or your neighbor's company. Sure, maybe it's not a robotic
truck, but Streetwise will bet there's other cool stories out there to tell.
So instead of doing what Donnie
Don't does and dwell on our city's negatives, Streetwise wants you to share all the cool things — the high-tech
innovations, the innovative products, the cutting-edge developments — that nobody seems to realize are happening in
Oshkosh.
They're out there. We know they are, so let's spread the word.
EChiemsee Castle Daycare/Preschool
LLC broke ground on their new center just west of where state highways 44 and 91 meet. When Fluor Bros. Construction completes
the 7,500-square-foot, it will give the Chiemsees (pronounced kim-say) an opportunity to expand programs and amenities, not
to mention huge visibility at one of the major entrances to Oshkosh.
EThat new foundation at South Washburn Street
and State Highway 44 that so many Country USA visitors got to see while they waited in traffic is for Oshkosh's newest
Kwik Trip. The convenience store will take the place of the former Wisconsin Farms Restaurant.
Source: thenorthwestern.com
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