A few days ago, there was one of the main events of the year in the field of robotics – summarizing competitions DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC).

The competition was attended by 16 robots developed by teams of researchers from around the world. The winner was named member of the jury on the basis of compliance with the mandatory program, which consisted of eight different tasks: driving, crossing the bricks, climbing stairs, overcoming landslides, passage doors, passage walls, twisting valves and hose connection to the connector.

So, the table of results is as follows:

For successful execution of tasks to each robot awarded a maximum of four points. In this case the maximum grade did not affect how fast the robot cope with the task. It was necessary only to invest in the allotted to each task 30 minutes.

Unfortunately, grants for further development and modernization of their robots Agency Defense Advanced Research Projects USA (DARPA) will receive only the first eight teams. Their decisions come together again in the final battle in the contest DRC in 2014. It is worth noting that the losing team will also be able to take part in the finals, but the source of funding for the improvement of robots they have a look for yourself.

Eight finalists DRC is as follows:

1. SCHAFT
2. IHMC Robotics
3. Tartan Rescue
4. MIT
5. RoboSimian
6. Team TRACLabs
7. WRECS
8. Team TROOPER

According to DARPA, each of these teams can count on grant of up to $ 1 million, of course, it all depends on the conditions of the contract.

Best with the specific task coped following robots:

• driving: WRECS;
• transition on the bricks: SCHAFT;
• climbing stairs: SCHAFT;
• overcoming collapses: SCHAFT;
• passage doors: IHMC Robotics;
• passage walls: IHMC Robotics;
• twisting valves: THOR;
• hose connection to the coupling device: SCHAFT.

Best results in most categories showed robot company SCHAFT, owned by Google. Not so long ago, the search giant also acquired Boston Dynamics , developer humanoid robot Atlas and other interesting projects.

SCHAFT robot is based on a HRP-2. It weighs about 100 kg, and height – 1.5 m

By the way, the prize money in the finals DRC, which will be held in December next year, is $ 2 million

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NASA experts have created a robot that will take part in competitions DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) with a prize fund of $ 2 million

Humanoid robot Valkyrie growth 183 cm and a weight of 125 kg has 44 degrees of freedom and is equipped with all kinds of sensors. According to the space agency, a mobile robot and agile enough to perform rescue missions in disaster areas.

During the interview with the resource IEEE Spectrum project manager in Valkyrie Space Center. Nicholas Johnson Radford said that Valkyrie is designed especially for the contest and DRC differs strong legs that allow the robot to move easily over rough terrain. As mentioned above, the robot is equipped with a plurality of sensors that help him determine the location, speed and applied to objects mechanical force. In addition, almost all parts of the robot’s body (head, arms, knees, legs, torso) placed camera sensors that provide visual information. Additional information on the sensors comes from hydraulic joints and laser scanner LIDAR.

Unlike other contestants – ATLAS robot , “Valkyrie” is equipped with a built-in battery capacity of 2 kWh, not cables that severely restrict freedom of action. The battery is located in a compartment on the back of the robot. In terms of autonomy Valkyrie creators promise to work for about an hour in the intensive mode. By the way, the modular design allows the robot to replace in a matter of minutes, not only the battery, but also my hands.

It is worth noting that Valkyrie is based on other humanoid systems NASA, in particular exoskeleton Robonaut. However, it differs completely new technology, and its lightweight body and legs make it stable aimed at performing tasks on earth, not in space.

Mr. Radford also said that the team has paid due attention and a lot of time designing the robot design. Metal components Valkyrie covered with special material, which in addition to protective functions gives Valkyrie aesthetic appearance.

It should be noted that NASA is funding another project codenamed Valkyrie – «kriorobot”, which works on the creation of the company Stone Aerospace, equipped with a special laser to penetrate through the thick bowl of ice on the satellite in Europe. However, this mission will not mated with “Valkyrie”, developed by a team of Nicholas Radford. According to him, at the moment comic agency more interested in Mars and perhaps, Valkyrie will soon become a full-fledged member of the team colonists.

Finally it is worth mentioning that the creation of Valkyrie team from 55 people took nine months.

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