Teams of Roble residents are invited on a secret tour of the secret Stanford Racing compound, where they will get to drive alongside Stanley (Stanford's robotic vehicle, winner of the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge; http://stanfordracing.com/) and watch it in action.

 

EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE

 

From: Jesse Young

BCC: <all emails>

Date: 4/28/2006 6:00PM

Subject: An Evening with Stanley

 

Hey everyone,

 

Are you ready to hang out with Stanley tonight?

 

It's about time to head over to the Stanford Racing compound. But first, you'll need to download a program that the Stanford Racing Boosters have developed that allows you to have internet access while you're on the road. It's called "Stanley Networking."

 

You can download it here: http://racing.stanford.edu/StanleyNetworking/ 

 

We've posted the location of the Stanford Racing compound on Google Maps. Once you've installed the program, be sure to close and reopen Internet Explorer, then just fire up Google Maps. Don't worry, you can't miss it.

 

Send me an email if you have any problems.

 

Otherwise, I'll see you at the compound!

 

-Jesse

 

 

SCENE I: STANFORD RACING HEADQUARTERS

 

Thrun (presumably, an actor with a nametag), seemingly depressed and mopey, meets the teams as they arrive at Stanford Racing headquarters (location yet to be determined). He takes a few teams past caution tape into a room where a tarp covers a large body-sized lump on the floor. A computer is at the far side of the room. A police officer is diligently observing the state of the room and writing notes about the crime scene on a legal pad.

 

THRUN

 

I'm sorry guys... we had planned such a fun evening with Stanley for you. It was going to be awesome. But it looks like we picked the wrong day.

 

You see, Stanley 's gone. Gone. No one knows where he is. Well (*sardonic chuckle, points at dead body*), I think he knows where Stanley is... (*pauses, pensively*)

 

Hmm... I wonder if I could just tell you what happened. (*calls police officer over, they whisper to each other, and then nod agreement.*)

 

Ok, it sounds like I can tell you everything. So, normally on Friday afternoons, I'm back in my office in Gates with the rest of the Stanford Racing team. Today though, I came over to the Compound around 4:30 to get Stanley ready for tonight's event.

 

When I came into this room, the lights were off, and my new postdoc, Dr. Xavier Van Orton, was hunched over the computer, typing furiously. Xavier – well, I just called him Dr. X – just joined the team a couple weeks ago from Berkeley . (*chuckles*) I guess I should have known better.

 

Well anyway, as I walked up behind him, he couldn't hear me over the sound of his own typing. I could tell that he was using the program to upload Stanley 's route and send him off racing. Obviously, he shouldn't have been doing that!

 

I tapped Dr. X on his shoulder. He spun around, with this look of utter horror on his face, a look I'll never forget. He stammered "Stanley... can't... no!", turned back to the computer, and pressed the button to send Stanley away. Before I had a chance to push him away and click Abort, he had yanked out the power cord.

 

I heard the engine start up in the parking lot, and ran outside to try to stop it before it could get out into the street. But Stanley was already gone.

 

When I returned 30 seconds later, Dr. X was lying on the floor, dead. I'm guessing he took a cyanide pill. To be honest with you guys, I really don't want to know.

 

FAKE TEAM MEMBER

 

Can't you just, you know, reboot? And then click Abort? And doesn't Stanley have a transmitter so you always know its GPS coordinates?

 

THRUN

 

Yeah, after I got off the phone with 9-1-1, that's what I tried next. But Dr. X had already disabled the tracking beacon and the remote abort button.

 

You Stanford Racing Boosters probably remember two weeks ago, when the tracking beacon was disabled accidentally and we couldn't find Stanley for several hours – until you guys figured out he was at Palm Drive. We found out later that Dr. X was the one who "accidentally" disabled Stanley 's transmitter.

 

After that whole fiasco, I got really paranoid about Stanley . Without telling Dr. X or anyone else, I installed a satellite phone system in Stanley 's glove compartment. I could log in and enter my passcode, and then it would tell me Stanley 's current location. I figured it wouldn't be disabled – because no one else knew it existed. Well, until now.

 

Since the phone system is so insecure, I figured that after I entered my passcode once, practically the entire world would know it, and anyone would be able to hack into my account. So every time I enter my passcode, that passcode automatically expires, and Stanley generates a new one automatically.

 

Still following me?

 

Whenever Stanley generates a new passcode, he drops a puzzle at his current location. The solution to that puzzle is the new passcode. I can then call Stanley 's satellite phone and enter the passcode to find out his new location. My idea was that only someone as smart as me would be able to solve the puzzles that Stanley creates.

 

FAKE TEAM MEMBER

 

Wait... how does Stanley create these puzzles? And how could it possibly manufacture puzzles and drop them on the ground?

 

THRUN

 

You'd be surprised what you can do with seven Pentium M computers. Remember, Stanley is the most advanced Artificial Intelligence that man has created. If it wants something done, it can figure out how. I don't really know how it manufactures the puzzles... I assume it probably contracts that part out to FedEx/Kinko's. They could deliver the puzzles pretty fast.

 

FAKE TEAM MEMBER

 

So what are you waiting for? Go find Stanley !

 

THRUN

 

(*chuckles*) I wish it were that easy. You see, not everyone believes that Dr. X killed himself. I'm potentially a murder suspect. The police won't just let me go on a... car chase.

 

But I've got an idea, actually. I'm thinking that about 3 to 5 of you, put together, might just be bright enough to solve these puzzles and track Stanley down. And to increase the chances of somebody finding Stanley , you should split up – into the same teams that you signed up for the "Evening with Stanley " event!

 

Would you guys be ok with that?

 

(*audience presumably says, yeah!*)

 

Ok, so then I've got some papers for you. The first one has the phone number of Stanley 's satellite phone, and my login ID number. Second, while you and the police were taking their time to arrive, I called Stanley with my initial passcode and picked up the puzzle in downtown Palo Alto . So, take a look at that, and see if you can pick up Stanley 's trail.