Robots built by 25 teams from around the world will compete in a competition hosted by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to test their ability to lend assistance following disasters, DARPA has announced.
Eleven teams previously selected will be joined by 14 new entrants from the United States, Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Germany and Italy for the competition to be held in Pomona, California.
In a series of simulated disaster rescue situations, the robots will be tested on traversing obstacles, opening doors, activating emergency shut-off switches and operating rescue vehicles, all in environments considered too dangerous for humans, competition organizers say.
"We're trying to make this contest more authentic to what a real disaster would be," said Darpa Robotics Challenge program manager Gill Pratt.
Putting the robots through their paces will offer an opportunity to gauge their ability to be of assistance to humans, performing difficult tasks considered too dangerous for people, he said.
"Robots are very good at working in dangerous environments, while humans are very good at making judgment calls," Pratt explained.
In the competition scheduled for June 5-6, the robots and their human engineering teams will be competing to snag one of three cash prizes totaling $3.5 million, with the overall winner getting $2 million.
The robots will need to guide a vehicle to the simulated disaster area, then exit the vehicle on their own to enter a building, avoiding rough terrain and debris.
Once in the building, their tasks will include turning off an emergency shutoff valve and re-connecting wires.
Using tools to cut a hole in a wall will give them access to a stairway they'll need to climb to exit the building.
There will also be an unannounced surprise task that the teams and their robots will face, Pratt said.
The participating teams will be awarded points for every task accomplished and will be judged on how fast they complete them within a one-hour deadline to finish the entire course.
These challenges have the selected teams working feverishly to get their robots ready, Pratt said, explaining that he and his DARPA team have been traveling the globe to see the progress being made.
"Some of these 25 teams may not make it," he said. "They may not all come. But I feel there is a good chance ... DARPA [sets up] hard things that have high risk and high rewards."
