At the conclusion of DARPA’s two-day Robotics Challenge, it was Team KAIST and its HUBO (HUmanoid RoBOt) android that took home top honors and the contest’s $2 million prize.
Team IHMC Robotics and Tartan Rescue, both US-based teams, followed the Challenge-winning South Korean team.
Over the weekend-long competition, 24 robots from the world over (12 from the US, five from Japan, three from South Korea, two from Germany, and one each from Italy and Hong Kong) were given two chances to compete on an obstacle course featuring eight tasks, including driving, entering through a door, opening a valve, punching through a wall, and traversing rubble / stairs.
These challenges were specially selected so as to represent those experienced by recovery specialists following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan.
Team KAIST’s HUBO scored eight points during the competition, which tied it with the aforementioned Team IHMC Robotics and Tartan Rescue bots. The tie breaker was given to HUBO, though, due to the fact that it finished the tasks six minutes ahead of IHMC, and 10 minutes faster than Tartan Rescue.
Some quick facts about HUBO: it’s been in the works since 2002, weighs 175 pounds, and is 70 inches tall. Also, the bot has the unique ability to transform from a standing position to a kneeling one designed for wheeled and fast motion.
Outside of the three mentioned in this article, a good majority of the remaining robots failed to complete the course, with several malfunctioning when they were unable to complete a task, or otherwise taking a tumble when exposed to a hurdle.
Via Phys.org
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