DARPA Robotics Challenge

Illustration of example disaster response scenario

"Robosimian"

The Robotics Challenge will focus on disaster or emergency-response scenarios. Although the requirements may change as the contest progresses, the initial task requirements for robot entries is:[4]

1. Drive a utility vehicle at the site.

2. Travel dismounted across rubble.

3. Remove debris blocking an entryway.

4. Open a door and enter a building.

5. Climb an industrial ladder and traverse an industrial walkway.

6. Use a tool to break through a concrete panel.

7. Locate and close a valve near a leaking pipe.

8. Connect a fire hose to a standpipe and turn on a valve.

The competition has been broken into multiple tracks. Tracks A and B receive DARPA funding, while Tracks C and D will receive no DARPA funding initially. Tracks B and C will go through the Virtual Robotics Challenge (VRC), after which successful teams may receive funding for subsequent stages.[4] Applications for tracks A and B closed in May 2012.[6] The track C application window closed on 18 December 2012, though late applications were still being considered as of January 2013,[7] though participants may still download the DRC Simulator, an open-source application created by the Open Source Robotics Foundation.[8] Track D was open for registration through October 2013.[9]

The signup site for Tracks C and D (no funding) shows illustrations of robots with most largely conforming to humanoid layouts (bipedal with two arms). Other configurations may be possible, however, as illustrated by the "Robosimian" illustration proposed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[10][11]

Unlike previous Challenges, entrants to the DRC need not build their robots from scratch. DARPA will provide to some participants "a robotic hardware platform with arms, legs, torso and head.[1] In August 2012, DARPA announced that it would pay about $10.9 million to Boston Dynamics to build seven platforms based on the PETMAN project by August 2014.[12][13][14]

The contest will also include "supervised autonomy" tasks in which non-expert operators will be allowed/required to complete tasks using the robotic vehicle. The Challenge will focus on the ability to complete such supervised autonomy tasks "despite low fidelity (low bandwidth, high latency, intermittent) communications."[4]

The DRC Trials occurred on December 20 and 21, 2013 in Florida. During the trials the robots were still teleoperated for the vast majority of tasks.[15] The 16 teams that competed in the Trials were:

* Maximal attainable number of points was 32[16]

^† Team SCHAFT was originally track A, but switched to track D after Google's acquisition.[17]

X = Did not Attempt[18]

The top 8 teams (SCHAFT through TROOPER) were initially eligible for funding. However, after the completion of the trials, Team SCHAFT elected to move to Track D, as a self-funded project. SCHAFT was acquired by Google, which also acquired autonomous vehicle technologies from teams that competed in the DARPA Grand Challenge. The move of SCHAFT to track D frees up DARPA funding for additional finalists. THOR, ViGIR, and KAIST, each of which earned 8 points during the trials, will now compete in the finals, with KAIST continuing as a track D self-funded team. Team THOR and Team ViGIR will split the DARPA funding, and Team THOR will further split into two teams after the move of its leader to a different university.[19]

Mobile Manipulation Robot Momaro[20]

The DRC Finals took place at the Fairplex in Pomona, California on June 5 and 6, 2015. Twenty-five of the top robotics organizations in the world gathered to compete for $3.5 million in prizes as they attempted a simulated disaster-response course.[21] The 25 teams competing for the Finals are:[22]

Team	Country	Affiliation	Robot (architecture)
TARTAN RESCUE	USA	CMU NREC	Chimp
TEAM AERO	Japan	Unknown	(4 legs)
TEAM AIST-NEDO	Japan	AIST
TEAM DRC-HUBO AT UNLV	USA	UNLV	Metal Rebel (Hubo)
TEAM GRIT	USA	Colorado Mesa University	(4 legs)
TEAM HECTOR	Germany	Darmstadt University	Johnny 05 (THORMANG)
TEAM HKU	Hong Kong	Hong Kong University	(Atlas)
TEAM HRP2-TOKYO	Japan	Jouhou System Kougaku
TEAM IHMC ROBOTICS	USA	Institute of Human and Machine Cognition	Running Man (Atlas)
TEAM INTELLIGENT PIONEER	China	Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
TEAM KAIST	South Korea	KAIST	Hubo (Hubo)
TEAM MIT	USA	MIT	(Atlas)
TEAM NEDO-HYDRA	Japan	University of Tokyo, Chiba Institute of Technology, Osaka University, Kobe University
TEAM NEDO-JSK	Japan	University of Tokyo
TEAM NIMBRO RESCUE	Germany	University of Bonn	Momaro
TEAM ROBOSIMIAN	USA	Jet Propulsion Lab, Caltech[23]
TEAM ROBOTIS	South Korea	ROBOTIS CO., LTD[24]	THORMANG (THORMANG)
TEAM SNU	South Korea	Seoul National University	(THORMANG)
TEAM THOR	USA	UCLA, UPenn	THOR-RD (THORMANG)
TEAM TRACLABS	USA	TRACLabs	(Atlas)
TEAM TROOPER	USA	Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories	(Atlas)
TEAM VALOR	USA	Virginia Tech	ESCHER
TEAM VIGIR	USA,  Germany	Virginia Tech, Darmstadt University, Oregon State University, TORC Robotics, Cornell University	Florian (Atlas)
TEAM IIT WALK-MAN	Italy	Italian Institute of Technology, University of Pisa	WALK-MAN
TEAM WPI-CMU	USA	Worcester Polytechnic Institute, CMU	Warner (Atlas)

• DARPA Grand Challenge

• Darpa Robotics Challenge official page
• Journal of Field Robotics Special Issue: The DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals