May 17, 201525 teams prepare for 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals

The robots will compete on a special obstacle course designed to simulate a disaster zone (Credit: DARPA)

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On June 5 and 6, the 2015 DARPA Robotic Challenge (DRC) Finals will take place at Fairplex in Pomona, California. Open to the public, it will see 25 international teams compete for US$3.5 million in prizes as part of an effort to develop robots for disaster relief. Here's what to expect.

The DARPA Robotics Challenge was inspired by the Fukushima nuclear disaster following the Japanese tsunami of 2011, when the general devastation prevented workers from reaching and operating the valves that could have prevented the gas explosion that damaged the reactors. Though robots were eventually brought to the site, they were slow to go into action because of the challenging learning curve and the degraded communications infrastructure.

This led DARPA to start a competition designed to spur development of semiautonomous robots capable of acting as teammates for disaster workers rather than tools. A virtual challenge with 26 teams using simulated robots kicked things off in June of 2013. This was followed in December 2013 by a physical challenge with 16 teams using real robots kept upright by safety tethers as they negotiated obstacle courses and carried out tasks using the tools at hand rather than specialized attachments.

This year's challenge will see 25 teams competing. Half of the teams are from the United States, five are from Japan, three from Korea, two from Germany, one from Italy, one from Hong Kong, and one from the People’s Republic of China. They will be vying for a US$3.5 million total of prizes; including a $2 million first prize, a $1 million second prize, and a $500,000 third prize. The robots will be of a wide variety with some humanoid, some four-legged, and some tracked, but all will need to operate free of external power, mechanical support, and limited communications with their controllers.

The basic idea behind DRC 2015 is to make things much harder for the robots than previously.

"A substantial fraction of them will have difficulty during the challenge. We do that on purpose," says DRC program manager, Dr. Gill Pratt. "DARPA takes high risks for high rewards, and that means that we also have a lot of challenges that we expect our performers to have. So, the challenge is quite hard."

During the two-day contest, the robots will be given one hour for eight tasks; one of which will not be revealed beforehand. Each robot will need to drive to the simulated disaster zone, make its way to a building, open a door, work a valve, and cut a hole in the wall. During this, communications will be deliberately degraded, so the robots need to operate with a high degree of autonomy instead of step-by-step remote control – all while dealing with obstacles

A major difference from the 2013 competition is that the robots won't be hooked to safety tethers, so If they fall down they have to get up on their own. If they can't, the team can simulate another robot helping it up and take a ten minute penalty. All of this requires improved interfaces, sensors, and software – they even use a boosted computer system designed to simulate capabilities of field gear projected five years into the future. In addition, the robots will use improved batteries, but this is may not be enough to offset the new rule disallowing recharges during the run.

DARPA is inviting the public to attend the event to show the difference between science fiction robots and the real thing, as well as dispelling fears about "killer" robots.

Gizmag will be on the ground reporting on the action – stay tuned.

Source: DARPA

25支队伍为2015年DARPA机器人挑战赛总决赛做准备

5月17日，201525队为2015年DARPA机器人挑战赛Finals

机器人将争夺一个特殊的障碍课程，旨在模拟灾区做准备（来源：DARPA）

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6月5日和6日，2015年DARPA机器人挑战赛（DRC）总决赛将在Fairplex波莫纳，加利福尼亚州。向公众开放，它会看到25个国际团队为美国争夺$ 350万美元的奖金作为努力开发机器人救灾的一部分。这里会发生什么。

DARPA的机器人挑战赛的灵感来自日本福岛核灾难的日本海啸2011年，当一般破坏阻止工人到达和操作，可以阻止这破坏了瓦斯爆炸的阀门以下该反应器。虽然机器人最终被带到了现场，他们行动迟缓去，因为具有挑战性的学习曲线和降低通信基础设施的付诸行动。

这导致DARPA启动旨在刺激能够充当队友的半自治机器人的开发竞争灾难工人而不是工具。在2013年六月与使用模拟机器人26支球队的虚拟挑战踢东西了，在此之后2013年12月通过物理的挑战与使用真实的机器人16支球队保持直立以安全系绳，因为他们谈判障碍课程，并进行了使用工具的任务在眼前，而不是专门的附件。

今年的挑战将会看到25支球队的竞争。球队有一半是来自美国，5名来自日本，三位来自韩国，两名来自德国，一个来自意大利，一个来自香港，一个来自中国的人民共和国。他们将争夺美国总奖金的$ 3.5亿美元;包括$ 2万头奖，$ 1百万二等奖，和$ 500,000三等奖。机器人将是多种多样的一些人形，一些四条腿，和一些跟踪，但所有必须操作自由外部电力机械支撑，并与它们的控制器限定的通信。

基本背后DRC 2015主意为使事情的机器人比以前更难。

“他们中的很大一部分将有挑战过程中的困难。我们这样做的目的的，说：”刚果（金）项目经理吉尔·普拉特博士。 “DARPA需要高回报高风险的，这意味着我们也有很多的，我们希望我们的表演有挑战，因此，面临的挑战是非常困难的。”

在为期两天的比赛中，机器人会给予一小时的八项任务;其中之一将不被预先揭示。每个机器人都需要把车开到模拟的灾区，作出自己的方式在建筑物，打开一扇门，工作阀门，切断墙上的一个洞。在此，通信将被故意降解，所以机器人需要与自治代替一步一步遥控高度操作 - 同时处理障碍

一个主要从2013竞争不同的是机器人会不会上瘾安全系绳，所以如果他们倒下，他们已经得到了自己。如果他们不能，球队可以模拟另一个机器人帮助它走十分钟的处罚。所有这些都需要改进的接口，传感器和软件 - 他们甚至用设计来模拟现场齿轮预计五年进入未来的能力的提升计算机系统。此外，该机器人将使用改进的电池，但这可能不足以抵消在运行期间对新规则不允许充电。

DARPA邀请公众参加此次盛会展现科幻的机器人与真实之间的区别。事情，以及关于“杀手锏”的机器人消除恐惧

Gizmag将在地面上的行动报告 - 敬请期待

来源：DARPA