Videos of the DARPA Grand Challenge, 2005

These videos were shot by Brian Gerkey. They are encoded in the QuickTime format, using the H.264 codec, at a fairly high quality. Sorry if they're slow to download or won't play on your machine.

Still photos of the DGC.

• The star-spangled banner. To be sure that you know you're at an All-American event (just like a baseball game), they open with the national anthem. The time is about 6.30 am.

• Introductions. The top three contenders are introduced, to great applause.

• H1ghlander's start. CMU's newer vehicle starts first.

• Stanley's start. Stanford goes second.

• Sandstorm's start. Last year's top performer starts third.

• Various starts. Some other vehicles start the course. Listen for the insightful commentary on the possible uses of the last vehicle.

• TerraMax's start. Believe it or not, this 16-ton truck finished the course.

• Stanley's drive-by. About 8 miles into the course, Stanley comes back by the grandstands.

• Caltech fans. Topless engineers. Now it's a party.

• The crowd. With the vehicles off into the desert, the crowd watches the race on screens inside the main tent.