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Innovation

Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

By Lyndsey Gilpin June 8, 2015, 8:47 AM PDT

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Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

DARPA Robotics Challenge

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DARPA Robotics Challenge

The final phase of the DRC took place from June 5-6 in Pomona, California. The first place winner was Hubo, developed by Team Kaist of Korea.

Second place went to Running Man, developed by Team IHMC Robotics of Pensacola, Florida, and third place went to CHIMP, out of Carnegie Mellon University.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

MIT's Atlas robot opens the door

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MIT's Atlas robot opens the door

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

A close-up of MIT's robot hands

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A close-up of MIT's robot hands

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Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

MIT's robot

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MIT's robot

The robot had to reset after failing the drill part of the course, but made it through in the end.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Team MIT

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Team MIT

Engineers from MIT’s team watched on as Atlas attempted to drill a hole in the wall.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Germany's NimbRo Rescue

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Germany's NimbRo Rescue

Germany’s team had seven of eight points after the first day, so it competed at the end of the day, right before the winners were announced.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robot fall

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Robot fall

NimbRo fell when it was trying to get through the rubble, and had a bit of trouble getting up.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

CHIMP

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CHIMP

Tartan Rescue, out of Carnegie Mellon University and the National Robotics Engineering Center, warmed up before its final run. It placed first, with all eight points in under an hour, the first day of the challenge.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robot crash

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Robot crash

CHIMP accidentally drove the Polaris into the barricade.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

CHIMP in action

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CHIMP in action

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Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robot shadows

Image: DARPA

Robot shadows

CHIMP prepared for the drill task. Communication was degraded in the course, so the robots had to act autonomously for certain things.

Image: DARPA
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robot acrobatics

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Robot acrobatics

RoboSimian got out of the car and then did some crazy moves to stand on its head and go through the course.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

RoboSimian enters the course

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RoboSimian enters the course

The crowd went wild as RoboSimian entered the course.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

A robot prepares to rest and enter the course

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

A robot prepares to rest and enter the course

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

RoboSimian tries to drill

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RoboSimian tries to drill

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Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Team WPI-CMU

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Team WPI-CMU

The audience erupted as the Warner robot out of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Carnegie Mellon University successfully exited the vehicle.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Opening the door

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Opening the door

The first task was to open the door, which this robot did successfully.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Climbing over the rubble

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Climbing over the rubble

At a fairly fast pace, WPI’s robot climbed over the cement rubble in the course.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

WPI fans cheering for their robot

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WPI fans cheering for their robot

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Programming the robots

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Programming the robots

Thousands of yards away, software teams worked to control the robot, though there were periodic blackouts while it was in the course to simulate a real-life disaster situation.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robot jokes

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Robot jokes

Teams were having fun decorating their robots back in the garage where they stayed for the weekend.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

A dancing, skating robot

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A dancing, skating robot

This robot, from Robotis, and its caretaker, skated around the expo and danced for visitors.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Failed attempt

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Failed attempt

Team Aero out of the University of Tokyo attempted the surprise task, putting a cord into a hole.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Team AERO

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Team AERO

Sadly, the robot dropped the cord. It only cried a little.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Team AERO watches on

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Team AERO watches on

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

A huge crowd

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A huge crowd

The DRC drew a huge crowd, who oohed and ahhed, laughed, and gasped watching robots try to go through the course.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robot down

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Robot down

A robot fell after trying to get through the final part of the challenge, and the team had to pick it up, which meant they lost 10 minutes of time.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

The course

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The course

There were four of these courses running simultaneously in the challenge.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robots of all sizes

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Robots of all sizes

This demonstration shows how a tiny robot can gauge environmental conditions and report back to its momma robot.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

NASA's robot

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NASA's robot

NASA showed off by making its robot dance.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robotis mini robots

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Robotis mini robots

These robots danced to top 40 hits. It was perhaps more amazing than robots opening doors and climbing stairs.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Lego robots

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Lego robots

There were hundreds of kids at the DRC, all excited about robots.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

UNLV's Hubo

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UNLV's Hubo

Hubo was out of University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robot eyes

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Robot eyes

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Working on the robots

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Working on the robots

Teams consistently worked on the tech behind the robots at their expo booths.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Robot excitement

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Robot excitement

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

A long week

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A long week

The DRC teams had been in Pomona for a week, and the software teams virtually never slept, constantly updating code. This HKU team member took a break.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

SRI humanoid robot

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

SRI humanoid robot

SRI demoed its humanoid robot, which it unveiled at the DRC. The battery for this guy lasts eight hours.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

SRI robot hand

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

SRI robot hand

SRI is developing smart, affordable robot technology.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

SRI's bomb technology

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SRI's bomb technology

This robot out of SRI can take apart bombs remotely.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Taking apart the bomb

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Taking apart the bomb

An SRI engineer demos how the robot could take apart a bomb.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

SRI's military tech

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

SRI's military tech

These robotic leg supports allow soldiers to carry 150 pounds without hurting themselves.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Getting girls into robotics

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

Getting girls into robotics

There were many young girls at the DRC, interested in robots — which was really great to see, because there were almost none on the teams.

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
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darpa46.jpg
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

MIT's robot cheetah

MIT's robot cheetah

MIT drew a huge crowd with its robot cheetah, which ran up and down the course, hopped, and danced.

Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Kids designed this robot game

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

Kids designed this robot game

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Kids working on robot projects

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

Kids working on robot projects

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

Inside the garage with the teams

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

Inside the garage with the teams

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

R2D2 look-alikes

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

R2D2 look-alikes

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
Photos: DARPA Robotics Challenge unleashes the next wave of humanoid robots

A much needed nap

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic

A much needed nap

Image: Lyndsey Gilpin/TechRepublic
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By Lyndsey Gilpin
Lyndsey Gilpin is a former Staff Writer for TechRepublic, covering sustainability and entrepreneurship. She's co-author of the book Follow the Geeks.
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