Chitty Chitty Bang Bang We Love You - Flying Humvees and Self Driving Cars

It was a big week for those of that grew up watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Google announced it is testing self driving cars.  The tests, of all places, are in California.  Why not New York City?

Not to be outdone by Google, the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced its Transformer X project - building a Humvee that can fly and land with little human instruction.  Some of the vendors and braintrusts that will come together to build this include:  Carnegie Mellon University, Aurora Flight Services, Lockheed Martin.

Transformer X will move soldiers and supplies.

Sources:

Danger Room, Wired Magazine, "Darpa moves a step closer to its flying Humvee", Spencer Ackerman, September 29, 2010.

Forbes Blog - The Firewall, "Forget Google's Self-Driving Cars.  The Pentagon is Building a Self Flying Humvee, Andy Greenberg, October 13, 2010.