Barstow, Calif. ? Looks like we won’t be seeing any robot driver’s licenses issued anytime soon.

All 15 self-navigating vehicles in a 150-mile race across the Mojave Desert were knocked out within a few miles of the starting gate Saturday, victims of technical glitches, barbed-wire fences and rugged terrain.

None could claim the $1 million prize offered by a military agency seeking to develop autonomous vehicles that could be used in combat.

One of the early favorites, a military Humvee converted by Carnegie Mellon University students, managed to travel 7.4 miles before veering off course and snapping an axle during the race.

“It was supposed to be challenging. We knew it would be challenging,” said Jan Walker, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon agency that sponsored the race. “We’re involved because it’s a technology we really need to push forward.”

Officials foresee using computer-run, remote robots to ferry supplies in war zones.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency spent $13 million on the Grand Challenge. It estimates competitors laid out a total of four to five times that amount developing their entries, which rely on global positioning satellites as well as a variety of sensors, lasers, radar and cameras to orient themselves and detect and avoid obstacles.

Most of the vehicles Saturday made it less than a mile before stalling, overturning or running off course. One six-wheeled robot built by a Louisiana team was disqualified after it became entangled in barbed wire. Others crashed seconds after starting.

“It’s a tough challenge — it’s a grand challenge — you can always bet that it’s not doable. But if you don’t push the limits, you can’t learn,” Ensco Inc. engineer Venkatesh Vasudevan said shortly after his company’s entry rolled onto its side several hundred yards from the gate.

The Pentagon’s research agency would have awarded $1 million to the first team whose vehicle could run the course in less than 10 hours.