Coverity Hones Stanford Racing Team Software Leading into 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge
SAN FRANCISCO, September 13, 2005 –
Coverity, Inc., makers of the world's most advanced and scalable
source code analysis solution, today announced that it is supporting
the Stanford Racing Team, by helping to identify software defects in
the software systems of Stanley, Stanford's off-road robotic racer
competing in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge.
"Software defects were a major cause of failure for teams in the 2004
DARPA Grand Challenge and we are working with Coverity to eliminate any
defects in Stanley," said Dr. Alex Aiken of the Stanford Computer Science
Research Group. "We were able to identify and subsequently address software
issues using Coverity's technology that we were unable to find through manual
testing. The Stanford Racing Team is very impressed with the results from Coverity."
"We're pleased that our research into the quality of complex software systems
increasingly found in automobiles is being used by the Stanford Racing Team
for the exciting DARPA Grand Challenge," said Seth Hallem, CEO of Coverity.
"By 2010 there will be 100 million lines of software in the average consumer
automobile, making high quality software a critical part of a reliable car."
In addition to a Volkswagen Touareg R5 turbocharged powerplant and chassis,
Stanley is powered by a cluster of six onboard Intel Pentium M computers
that process information for five laser range finders, a radar system,
monocular vision, GPS and an inertial measurement system.
Coverity's Prevent and Extend source code analysis products was used to find
and eliminate software defects in six custom software modules designed by the
Stanford Racing Team:
- Computer vision;
- Intertial Navigation;
- LIDAR - Light Detection And Ranger (similar to radar but with lasers);
- Planning and optimization;
- Control;
- Reliability.
Engineers at the renowned Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL) meticulously
tested and analyzed the groundbreaking software that powers Stanley and that could
lead to driver assistance systems that enhance automotive safety. Of the 68 defects
detected, approximately half were in the custom software developed at SAIL and half
were software libraries that other engineers created. In the 2004 DARPA challenge no
car survived more than eight miles. The Stanford team did not participate in that race.
About Stanford Racing Team
The Stanford Racing Team (www.stanfordracing.org),
is preparing Stanley, an autonomous
ground vehicle, to compete in the 2005 Grand Challenge sponsored by the U.S. government's
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA). Stanley seeks to win the October 8
event and its $2 million prize by completing a difficult 175-mile desert course in less
than 10 hours. The team draws upon Stanford University's artificial intelligence expertise
and groundbreaking software and techniques for environment perception and stable vehicle
control. It comprises more than 30 Stanford engineering faculty and students from computer
science, mechanical engineering, aeronautics and astronautics, and management science and
engineering departments. Rounding out the team are engineers from the Volkswagen Electronics
Research Lab and members of early stage venture capital firm MDV-Mohr, Davidow Ventures.
Other primary team supporters include Red Bull and Android.
About Coverity
Coverity (www.coverity.com), makers of the world's most advanced and scalable source code
analysis solution for pinpointing software defects and security vulnerabilities, is a
privately-held company headquartered in San Francisco. Coverity was founded in 2002 by
leading Stanford University scientists whose four-year research project resulted in a
breakthrough approach for addressing the costliest problem in the software industry. That
research breakthrough allows developers to quickly and precisely eliminate software defects
and security vulnerabilities in tens of millions of lines of new or legacy code. Today,
Coverity's solution is used by more than 40 leading companies to significantly improve the
quality of their software, including Juniper Networks, VERITAS, McAfee, Synopsys, NASA,
PalmOne, Sun Microsystems and Wind River.
Coverity is a registered trademark, and Coverity Extend and Coverity Prevent are trademarks
of Coverity, Inc. All other company and product names are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contacts
Bret Clement
Page One PR for Coverity
bret@pageonepr.com
(303) 462-3057
David Park
dave@coverity.com
(415) 321-5204
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