Image: DARPA
If you've ever watched a baby try to open doors or get up some stairs, watching robots try and fail to do the same is almost as cute.DARPA, the US government's research and development arm for emerging military tech, kicked off its robotics challenge finals in Pomona, California today. The competition, which pits 23 teams of engineers and their robots against one another on an obstacle course of natural and manmade disasters includes a variety of tasks, such as:
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Drive a vehicle to the course
Exit the vehicle
Open a door
Cut a circle out of a plaster wall and push it through
Rotate a circular valve 360 degrees
Pull a lever
Navigate the robot through rubble—without falling
Get up some stairs