A small group of robots will soon be competing at the DARPA Robotics Challenge as a part of an effort to fast-track the development of robots that can become the future of disaster response. By completing a series of search-and-rescue and crisis response tasks, the robots will be trying convince the judges that they’re are the most capable androids of the bunch.
Later this month, 17 robots will show off their skills at the DARPA Robotics Challenge trials to try to convince the judges that they’re are the toughest and cleverest androids of the bunch. The challenge, prompted by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, aims to fast-track the development of robots that can respond in a natural or man-made disaster. The robotic contestants will perform a series of search-and-rescue and crisis response tasks that might be needed in a future disaster: drive a utility vehicle, traverse complex obstacles, remove debris from an entry, open doors, climb a ladder, locate and close valves, connect a hose, and use tools to cut a hole through a wall.