Experimenting on robotic vehicle

WEYMOUTH -- If you see a driverless car careening around the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station, don't be alarmed. The car is an experimental robotic vehicle being designed by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. They plan to enter it in a national competition, the Urban Challenge, sponsored by the Department of Defense.

"The goal is to create a robotic car that can drive itself in traffic," said John Leonard, an engineering professor at MIT who is helping to lead the project. "The ultimate competition is a 60-mile course. The government's ambition is to use it for the armed forces. And our hope is that some of this technology might find its way into vehicles we all drive, to reduce accidents and increase safety."

In June, the car will have to pass a test of driving itself around the Weymouth course. The final competition is in November.

JOHANNA SELTZ