DARPAroboticschallenge
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ICYMI: Laser-powered spacecraft, upgraded Atlas bot and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-139655{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-139655, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-139655{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-139655").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A professor from California is working on a plan to use photonic propulsion to get a spacecraft to Mars within 72 hours. It would use get the craft off of earth with the power generated by photons leaving a laser.
Researchers are helping robots avoid expensive face plants
Why are robot tumbles comedy gold? Unlike humans, they make no effort to protect themselves, resulting in flailing, extra hard falls (bottom). But the high-g impacts are hell on the extremely expensive, often one-of-a-kind machines, so researchers from Georgia tech developed algorithms to give them some sense of self-preservation. They made them copy exactly what we do instinctively -- stick out a limb to break the fall. "(That way), every time you make contact with the ground, some of the energy is dissipated," said Georgia Tech professor Karen Liu.
Younger generations don't fear the robot revolution
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-999036{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-999036, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-999036{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-999036").style.display="none";}catch(e){} With every new bot on the block, we're inching closer to sharing our homes with machines. DARPA's recent Robotics Challenge wasn't about finding the best personal robot companion, but hinted at a future where they will run free (albeit very slowly) and rush to save lives when disaster strikes. But beyond the much-talked about hunt for first responder bots, DARPA had a lesser known contest that seemed just as pertinent as the main event. The agency set up Robots4Us, a contest for high school students, to reach out to the demographic that's most likely going to share space with robots. Teens from across the country sent in short videos about their hopes and fears for the future of robots. In the end, five young winners made their way to Pomona, California, for the robotics challenge to present their version of the future. Instead of the dystopian narrative that usually accompanies robotics, each student envisioned a collaborative space for robots and humans to coexist. Turns out, the generation that will most likely hang out with a bot at home isn't robophobic at all.
The bots that bucked the humanoid trend at DARPA's challenge
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-897542{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-897542, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-897542{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-897542").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Humanoids are supposed to be best suited for a world that's engineered for humans. They can climb stairs, open doors and drive cars. At DARPA Robotics Challenge, most of the participating humanoids succeeded in completing those tasks, but when it came to walking, they were clumsier than the species they were designed to emulate. Getting a machine to put one foot in front of the other has been a priority for roboticists for decades. Bipedal locomotion would presumably make it easier for robots to navigate a man-made world and perhaps make them more relatable. But the movement requires sophisticated control software and advanced AI technology that isn't quite ready yet.
Team MIT's robot lost the DARPA challenge but won over the crowd
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-996107{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-996107, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-996107{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-996107").style.display="none";}catch(e){} At the DARPA Robotics Challenge last week, a robot drove in on a red UTV. The vehicle slowly came to a halt on the obstacle course as it reached the door of a simulated disaster building. The driver, a six-foot-two Atlas humanoid, sat motionless for many minutes. About half a dozen researchers wearing blue "TEAM MIT" vests looked on, like anxious parents waiting for their child to pick up the pace in a crucial race. When their robot eventually turned its body to get out of the vehicle, it shook uncontrollably for seconds before it leaped out of the car and fell flat on its face. The crowd collectively gasped and a loud aww rippled through the stands at Fairplex in Pomona, California. In that moment, one of the front-runners in the race became the underdog.
We're not doomed: A supercut of robots falling down
Today's action at the DARPA Robotics Challenge has been interesting, but if there's one takeaway so far it's this: the robot apocalypse is not here yet. If you've been warily looking on as robots run, jump, wield swords and even fold themselves up origami-style, this video clip of all the times robots fell over during he competition is exactly what the doctor ordered. Now, we're sure these teams will continue developing their technology and someday, a robot will master the art of stepping out of an ATV well enough to subjugate squishy organic lifeforms (or save them from disasters, which is the point of the competition) -- just not today. Update: More video is coming in, and we may have laughed too soon. Besides the numerous successful attempts at traversing areas of DARPA's obstacle course, Carnegie Mellon's CHIMP robot showed mettle by picking itself up after a fall. Check out the clip after the break, plus a bonus video showing the MIT "Cheetah" quadruped taking a tumble.
Watch RoboSimian prepare for DARPA's Robotics Challenge finals
I've got to be honest: the moment I saw the robot above straighten its torso like some sort of a human-arachnid hybrid, I felt a tinge of fear. Good thing NASA JPL designed it to help humans in times of need, eh? This is RoboSimian, one of the few non-biped finalists for DARPA's Robotics Challenge. It was created to become a first responder in times of natural or man-made disasters, finding survivors and going to places humans can't visit. In the videos below the fold, you can watch its creators from NASA JPL explain the technologies they incorporated into the simian/crab-inspired machine. You can also watch Team RoboSimian prepare for DARPA's Robotics Challenge finals this Friday and Saturday, where the robot will scuttle (or drive, because yes, it can drive) around in a simulated disaster area. We'll be at the finals this weekend and might get the chance to talk to the team, so make sure to check back for more on this crazy-looking machine.
How to watch the DARPA Robotics Challenge finals online for free
DARPA's Robotics Challenge is finally coming to a close. The finals will be held on June 5th to 6th, almost three years after the contest was launched, in Pomona, California -- but you thankfully can watch it live, even if you can't make it there in person. CuriosityStream, a new website the serves up documentaries, will live stream all 25 contenders as they go through a series of tasks in a simulated disaster-response course during the event. It will also show a few specials explaining the idea behind the challenge, a couple of finalist profiles and documentaries tackling the 2011 nuclear plant catastrophe in Japan. This contest is part of DARPA's efforts to find an effective first-response and search-and-rescue humanoid robot, prompted by the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.
Watch Atlas go through a push test before DARPA's Robotics Challenge
The DARPA Robotics Challenge finals is scheduled for June 5th to 6th, and we'll bet the finalists are now pulling all-nighters finishing up their entries. Team IHMC Robotics from the Institute of Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola, for instance, is working to further improve its Atlas-based machine called Running Man. In the video below the fold, you'll see the team demonstrate its fall avoidance and push recovery technique. If you recall, DARPA's contest is specifically looking for humanoid machines for disaster relief and search-and-rescue operations. We've got a feeling those types of robots won't be operating under the best conditions, so the ability to withstand outside forces will surely come in handy.
Watch this biped robot endure kicks and a barrage of dodgeballs
For a biped robot to be able to do its job, it needs to be stable -- it can't topple at the gentlest touch or gust of wind. That's why Oregon State University's Dynamic Robotics Laboratory designed its prototype robot called ATRIAS to be extra stable, as you'll see in the videos below the fold. It easily neutralized human kicks during one test in early March, and it barely even registered that it was being pelted with dodgeballs on another test just a few days ago. Don't let those spindly legs above fool you either: those springy, pogo-like carbon fiber limbs are the reason why the robot's such an agile runner. ATRIAS is scheduled to demonstrate its skills onstage at the DARPA Robotics Challenge finale in June. Despite its ability to withstand abuse, its developers still have a lot to do before it can walk and run around the stage while maneuvering over obstacles for its performance.
DARPA gives its Atlas robot a makeover, cuts the wires
The Atlas robot is shedding its safety cables to be able to adhere to the more stringent rules of the DARPA Robotics Challenge finale scheduled for June this year. DARPA almost completely redesigned its humanoid machine, bringing over only the lower legs and feet of the old robot to the new version called Atlas Unplugged. By using lighter materials for its body, the team was able to add a 3.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack that has the potential to power the new Atlas for an hour of walking and other activities. Its designers also added a wireless router for communication, tweaked its wrists to be able to rotate further and gave it three perception computers for task planning, among other improvements.
Surge the rescue robot is RoboSimian's more evolved sibling
It looks like the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory team responsible for RoboSimian's existence has been busy this year, creating its possible substitute for the DARPA Robotics Challenge finale. The result? A robot that stands upright at 4.5 feet and weighs in at 200 pounds called Surrogate, or Surge for short. It's more human-like than its predecessor, with its two arms, a head and a spine, which allows it to manipulate objects better. It also has Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) equipment on its head, which gives it the capability to create 3D maps of various locations using laser beams. Problem is, it can't climb rough or tall terrain, because it uses caterpillar tracks. Plus, its body only has room for one set of cameras.
Google-powered machines lead DARPA's Robotics Challenge (video)
And you thought the Big Dog was scary? Okay, Boston Dynamics' quadrupedal, un-tip-overable 'bot still takes the cake, but SCHAFT (pictured above) deserves its own condo in the uncanny valley. And to think, they'll both be eating together at a cafeteria in Mountain View soon. That 'bot won DARPA's rescue-oriented competition this weekend by successfully navigating tricky terrain and clearing debris. Two other teams, IHMC Robotics and MIT, earned respective second and fourth places with variants on Boston Dynamics' Atlas machine. Other top-ranking entries included third-place Tartan Rescue as well as RoboSimian, Traclabs, WRECS and Trooper. The high scores are useful for more than just bragging rights. These top eight teams will receive DARPA funding as they move on to the Robotics Challenge finals in late 2014; they'll have a big (metal) leg up versus rivals that will have to pay to play. Congratulations to all, but if you don't mind, we'll be keeping our distance from Google headquarters until we know exactly what Andy Rubin plans to do with his new army of metal men and beasts.
NASA's humanoid Valkyrie robot could lead the way to Mars (video)
NASA's Robonaut is only just getting its legs, but it already has some fresh (and arguably superior) competition. The agency's Johnson Space Center has given IEEE Spectrum a sneak peek at Valkyrie, a DARPA Robotics Challenge entry built to take on dangerous tasks that would normally require a human presence. In addition to sporting more joints than many of its typical two-legged rivals, the sometimes autonomous machine is chock-full of cameras, LIDAR and sonar that help it quickly move around. It can operate under planetary gravity loads that Robonaut can't touch, and even an inexperienced user can keep it running; the modular design lets astronauts swap out batteries and replacement limbs within minutes. Valkyrie isn't guaranteed to enter service, as it will have to win the support of both DARPA and NASA officials before it progresses much further. If it passes muster, however, it could be vital to NASA's long-term plans for Mars -- robots such as Valkyrie will likely prepare any future Martian landing site and assist humans once they arrive.
Boston Dynamics puts AlphaDog through more field training, teaches Atlas robot to hike over rocks
Boston Dynamics' sprinting WildCat robot isn't the only autonomous machine it's letting roam the great outdoors: AlphaDog is still trudging through the wilderness too. A flurry of updates to the firm's YouTube channel reveal that the four-legged robot (officially known as the LS3) has been undergoing field testing in Twentynine Palms CA, which included overcoming rough-terrain, GPS guided maneuvers and endurance tests. It's impressive, as always, as is the outfit's progress with Atlas, a bipedal robot that evolved from Boston Dynamics' Petman. The humanoid machine can now negotiate a rocky walkway with relative ease, adding another party trick to its already impressive repertoire. The video updates didn't say if the machines were ready for the DARPA Robotics Challenge later this winter, but you can get an eyeful of the company's progress after the break.
DARPA's Atlas robot will be taught to save you if the sky falls (video)
DARPA and Boston Dynamics seem bent on engineering the robot revolution, and it's while wearing a suspicious smile that they introduce us to Atlas, their latest humanoid creation. Inorganically evolved from Petman and an intermediate prototype, Atlas will compete in DARPA's Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials in December, where it will be challenged with "tasks similar to what might be required in a disaster response scenario." The seven teams that made it through the Virtual Robotics Challenge stage, held in a simulated environment, will massage their code into the real 6' 2" robot, which sports a host of sensors and 28 "hydraulically actuated joints." Also competing for a spot in the 2014 DRC finals are six "Track A" teams, including a couple of crews from NASA, which've built their own monstrous spawn. Head past the break for Atlas' video debut, as well as an introduction to the Track A teams and their contributions to Judgement Day.
DARPA's Pet-Proto robot climbs, balances, jumps, comes to get you
While Boston Dynamics' Cheetah has already premiered, speeding along on its robot-friendly treadmill, we've now got a better glimpse at how the similarly DARPA-funded human-hunting obstacle-scaling Atlas fares, courtesy of its ancestor. That's the Pet-Proto you can see in the video below, balancing and leaping across narrow terrain, conducting its own "autonomous decision-making" and keeping upright -- all very important points for DARPA's own Robotics Challenge, a competition where winners will gain access to their very own modified version of the Atlas for future disaster response tests. Watch the Pet-Proto gradually advance towards camera right after the break. And we'll sleep with one eye open.
