Search - NOVA: The Great Robot Race on DVD

Great high tech drama, human interest story

Edward Chao | Cincinnati, OH | 04/07/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Great Robot Race follows the ups and downs of teams competing on an immensely difficult challenge: to develop a driverless robotic vehicle that can race 212km in the California desert. The highlights of the story are the contrasting personalities, engineering philosophies, and remarkable technological advances just a year after the first race ended in failure."

Faithful to the PBS broadcast program, extras shockingly li

R. Hyre | United States | 12/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was a bit dissapointed that more of the extras on the PBS.org web site - such as extended interviews - didn't make it on the disc as DVD extras.

I rated the DVD a 3 because the expected extras, such a subtitles in different languages, and DVD extras, were not present. That's why 4 stars instead of 5.

That's the only complaint I really have, the video on the disc itself is good. It's the story of the human teams and the science and engineering behind the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. The Grand Challenge is a race across the desert in California and Nevada, where only robotic control is allowed. It is told in an engaging manner.

I recommend this disc for robotics enthusiasts, people interested in engineering, teachers and people interested in using robotics to help math, science and software engineering education programs.

The storytelling and video work made it an interesting broadcast."