Behind the scenes at the DARPA Robotics Challenge

Last weekend, 24 teams from around the world converged in Pomona, California to compete for the DARPA Robotics Challenge. DARPA launched the competition in response to the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami when, if robots been among the first responder teams, human lives could have been saved. Up in the grandstand, hundreds of excited children and parents were ready for a modern-day gladiator spectacle. "Will there be killer robots?" asked one boy, who was very disappointed to find out the steel humanoids were there to help, not destroy.

After a difficult assault course, designed around a hazardous environment, which required robots to drill through a wall, release a mounted valve, climb stairs and drive an off-road utility vehicle, Team KAIST from Korea walked away with the $2 million first prize. In the end, the modification that set their DRC-Hubo apart was something that the other robots found difficult-the egress test-or getting out of the vehicle. Many of the other robots in the competition failed to dismount and had the indignity of their teams wheeling over the safety harness to tether and lift them out, losing points and time, before continuing other tasks. Team IHMC Robotics from the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition came in second.

A theme emerged: robot competitions are here to stay. "We aren't in competition with each other," said Dr. Arati Prabhakar, DARPA Director. "Really we are in competition against the problems of the world." Aging populations, environmental disasters, and dwindling natural resources are serious issues. But the glory, prize money and the global glow of publicity are nice, too