That look

So long as I'm sitting here wasting time waiting for my computer to finish processing some logs I'm running (the car generates far too much data, as far as I'm concerned), I might as well sit and ruminate a bit. Nowadays I feel like I always need to start an entry with an apology, as the entries seem ever more sparse. Clearly it's a case of being busy- working 12 - 16 hours a day on the Urban Challenge does not leave one much time for ranting in a journal. I would suggest bringing on a team media rep to document our case, but then that would take all my fun away. Not that writing and managing all the sensor fusion on the car isn't fun...

Anyway, I think the thing I will miss most about the project when it is over is "that look" we get when people see us driving around town in one of our cars. There's no mystery as to why we get that look- this is what awaits the casual onlooker who peeks inside the front driver's window:

...so that explains that. The look has several distinct flavors, depending on the type of person looking. Here I divide them into four prominent categories:

1. The Joke - when the onlooker laughs, thinking we're crackpots who just threw a bunch of crap on our car for no reason
   
2. The Double Take - when the onlooker glances quickly, has no idea what he saw, turns back for a longer gawk, and still has no idea what he saw
   
3. The Appreciation - when the onlooker knows something of technology and is impressed with what we've done
   
4. The Fear - when the onlooker thinks we're secret government agents out on a witch hunt

Not surprisingly, we get very few looks of appreciation and quite a good number of fearful glances. The latter are especially commonplace in Ithaca and the surrounding area, where there are a good number of closet hippies and environmentalists unwilling to believe the Vietnam War is over.

When we get out to our site visit course for testing, we don't see many other people. The reason is that it's at an Army Depot whose sketchiness manages to rival our own. These are just a few examples:

I fully expect to have super powers when I'm done with my work at this place... I look forward to being able to fly.