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WHEREAS, the Tartan Racing Team of Carnegie Mellon University is a group of faculty and students who worked together to create an autonomous entry vehicle for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's 2007 Urban Challenge; and
WHEREAS, the team unites the worlds of academia and industry, bringing together Carnegie Mellon University, General Motors, Caterpillar, and Continental AG; and
WHEREAS, the Urban Challenge is a Pentagon-sponsored competition that requires that a self-driving car safely and successfully navigate a course simulating urban driving, including merging traffic, stop signs and intersections for 60 miles of road; and
WHEREAS, on November 4, 2007 the Tartan Racing Team received the first-place prize of $2 million dollars over ten other competitors in the Urban Challenge for the success of their robotic vehicle "Boss," a 2007 Chevy Tahoe equipped with cameras and lasers; and
WHEREAS, the Tartan Racing Team is led by Dr. William "Red" Whittaker, the Fredkin Research Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute and the founder of the Field Robotics Center and the Robotics Engineering Consortium; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Whittaker's robotics endeavors have won numerous awards including the Engelberger Technology Award, the Laurels Award for outstanding achievement from Aviation Week and Space Technology, Pittsburgh's Man of the Year in Technology, and one of Science Digest's Top 100 US Innovators.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh recognizes the dedication of the Tartan Racing Team and commends them on their outstanding first-place achievement in the 2007 Urban Challenge; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby declares, December 4th, 2007 "Tartan Racing Team Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.