From The New York Times, here’s a summary report from DARPA’s Robotics Challenge 2013. The competition is made of eight trials that include climbing ladders, walking across rough terrain, and clearing debris, showcasing how robots can aid in future disaster responses.
Out of 16 competing teams, eight robot finalists earned places in the 2014 Grand Challenge where the team of the robot winner will be awarded a $2 million prize. From Extreme Tech:
The Schaft team won in four out of eight tasks — terrain, ladder, debris, and hose — and accrued a total score of 27 points. Second-place IHMC Robotics, which used Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot, came in second with two task wins and 20 points.
Rounding out the rest of the DRC results, Tartan Rescue (Carnegie Mellon + NREC) came in third with its CHIMP robot, picking up 18 points, and MIT came in fourth with an Atlas. NASA’s Valkyrie sadly scored zero points. A full break down of the contest and the results can be found on the DRC Trials website. Some cool videos from the event can be found on DARPA’s YouTube channel.
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