December 18, 2013 10:58am ET'Robot Olympics': 17 Cyborg Athletes to Vie for Glory in DARPA Challenge From left to right: Virginia Tech's THOR, DARPA's test platform robot made by Boston Dynamics, and Raytheon's Guardian. Credit: DARPA View full size image

Before athletes from around the world gather for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, 17 robotics teams will compete for glory — and funding — this week in the DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials.

The competition will take place Friday and Saturday (Dec. 20-21) at the Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. The contest, designed to advance the field of robot technology, will test the capabilities of robotic creations from teams hailing from five different countries.

DARPA is the branch of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for experimenting with and developing new technologies for the military. The Robotics Challenge aims to foster the development of robots that could someday work alongside humans in the aftermath of disasters or emergencies, according to DARPA officials. [Images: DARPA Robotics Challenge]

"The purpose of the program is really to develop technology that can help make us much more robust to both natural and man-made disasters," said Gill Pratt, program manager of the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). "In particular, [we're] looking at robotic tech that can mitigate the extent of a disaster during the first hours and days, or while the disaster is still unfolding."

The rules of the game

This week's trials will consist of eight physical tasks that test the robots' perception, autonomous decision-making skills, mobility, strength and dexterity. Some of the tasks include climbing a ladder; navigating across different types of tricky, uneven terrain; closing a series of valves; and driving a vehicle through a marked course.

The Challenge is a series of tasks to test the capabilities of robots designed for disaster response in emergencies. See full infographic.Credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics ArtistView full size image

The performance of the robots will help DARPA evaluate the current state of robotics, and will also determine which teams go on to compete in the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in 2014. There, the qualifying teams and their robots will compete to win a $2 million grand prize, DARPA officials said.

DARPA's robotics program began with more than 100 participating teams, Pratt told reporters in a news briefing earlier this month. In June, a simulated virtual challenge was held to narrow the field for the Florida trials. DARPA provided financial support to 13 of the teams that will compete this week, but an additional four teams are entering the competition with robots and software systems that were built entirely with their own funds.

The competing teams represent a diverse range of organizations and industries, including universities, software firms, small businesses and even two separate groups from NASA.

"DARPA structured the challenge to encourage participation by experts in hardware and software alike since both fields are necessary to provide a realistic baseline on the current state of robotics," Pratt said in a statement.

The robotic designs are similarly varied, with some teams choosing two-legged humanoid robots, while others will be experimenting with machines on four or six legs, or robots mounted on tracks like a tank. [Super-Intelligent Machines: 7 Robotic Futures]

"The diversity of approaches we expect to see demonstrated at the DRC Trials will mark the beginning of an important transformation in robotics, and these approaches will be further refined going into the DRC Finals in 2014," Pratt said.

For a good cause

The DARPA Robotics Challenge was created largely in response to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown, in which a crippled Japanese nuclear plant leaked 300 tons of radioactive water into the ground following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the region.

"During the first 24 hours there, if [robots] had been able to go into the reactor buildings and vent the built-up gas that was accumulating inside the reactors, those explosions might have been prevented, and the disaster might not have been as severe," Pratt said. "The tech we're trying to develop is to allow human beings and robots to work together, in environments that are too dangerous for human beings to go into themselves."

The tasks are designed to evaluate the robots' abilities to adapt to highly variable situations, as would be required in unpredictable disaster situations. But the field of robotics is still very much in its infancy, and expectations for the challenge should keep that in mind, Pratt said.

"It's very important to distinguish between what real robotics technology is like, and what you see in science fiction and film," he explained.

State of the field

For the most part, the types of robots that are already widely used are ones that are stationary, or carry out clearly defined and repetitive tasks, such as robots in car manufacturing plants. Other robots that are used in the military, for example, have limited autonomous operations, and largely rely on human handlers to control their movements and decision-making.

"Where we are right now, robots are roughly at the same level of dexterity and mobility of a 1-year-old child," Pratt said. "They fall down, they drop things out of their hands all the time — in general, they need to try things many times to get them right. That's about where the field is now."

But the Robotics Challenge could change that.

"DARPA has successfully used incentive-based Challenges over the past decade to attract innovators from around the world to develop leap-ahead technology capabilities," Pratt said. "The diverse participation in the DRC will reinforce the openness that the international science and technology community shares, and move us to a future in which capable disaster response robots can help us save lives and prevent loss."

The DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials are free and open to the public. At the event, other organizations and companies will showcase technology related to disaster response and robotics.

Follow Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.

机器人奥运会－17个机器人运动员在DARPA挑战赛争夺荣耀

2013年12月18日10:58 ET'Robot奥运”：17机器侠运动员争夺荣耀，在DARPA Challenge 从左至右依次为：弗吉尼亚理工大学的托尔DARPA的测试平台机器人由波士顿动力学制成，和雷声公司的守护者。图片来源：DARPA查看原图

之前，来自世界各地的运动员齐聚一堂，2014年冬季奥运会在索契，俄罗斯，机器人17支球队将争夺荣耀＆mdash;和资助＆mdash;本周在DARPA的机器人挑战赛选拔赛.

比赛将于周五和周六（12月20-21）在宅基迈阿密赛道霍姆斯特德，佛罗里达州的比赛，旨在推动机器人技术领域，将考验机器人创作的队伍来自五个不同国家的.

DARPA欢呼能力是美国国防部门负责试验和开发军事新技术的分支。该机器人挑战赛旨在促进机器人可能有一天会一起工作，人类在灾害或突发事件发生后的发展，根据DARPA的官员。 [图片：DARPA机器人挑战Images: DARPA Robotics Challenge吉尔说普拉特，DARPA的机器人挑战赛（DRC）的项目经理。 ＆QUOT;特别是，[我们we're试验将包括用于测试机器人的感知，自主决策能力，流动性，力量和敏捷八个物理任务。一些任务包括：爬梯子;航行在不同类型的猫腻，地势不平;闭一系列阀门;并通过标记当然驾驶的车辆。

的挑战是一系列的任务来测试机器人设计用于在紧急情况下应对灾害的能力。查看全部infographic.Credit：由卡尔·泰特，信息图表ArtistView原图

机器人的性能将帮助DARPA评估机器人的当前状态，并且也将决定哪支队伍继续在DARPA的机器人挑战赛总决赛的竞争在2014年。目前，符合条件的团队和他们的机器人将竞争赢得$ 2亿巨奖，DARPA官员称.

DARPA的机器人项目开始与超过100支参赛队，普拉特告诉记者，在一次新闻发布会上本月初。今年六月，一个模拟的虚拟挑战举行缩小现场为佛罗里达州的试验。 DARPA提供资金支持，13的球队将争夺这个星期，但一个附加的四支球队都进入与机器人和人用自己的资金完全建立软件系统.

竞争

参赛队代表的组织多种多样，并行业，包括大学，软件企业，小型企业，甚至两个独立的团队从美国航空航天局.

u0026 QUOT; DARPA结构，鼓励参与的专家在硬件和软件一样的挑战，因为这两个领域是必要的，以提供当前状态的现实基础的机器人，＆QUOT;普拉特在声明中表示.

机器人的设计也同样各有不同，有的球队选择两足人形机器人，而其他人将用机器上的四个或六个腿被尝试，或机器人安装在像坦克履带。 [超级智能机：7机器人期货Super-Intelligent Machines: 7 Robotic Futures在2014年，＆QUOT;普拉特说：.

一个良好的事业

DARPA的机器人挑战赛在很大程度上是针对2011年的福岛核危机，其中一个残缺的日本核电厂泄漏的300吨放射性水渗入地下后，毁灭性的地震和海啸袭击该区域??.

u0026 QUOT;在第一个24小时出现，如果[机器人robots和灾难可能没有那么严重，＆QUOT;普拉特说。 ＆QUOT;我们正在努力开发的技术，是让人类与机器人一起工作，因为太危险的环境下为人类进入自己＆QUOT;

任务的目的是机器人的能力评估为适应高度变化的情况下，如将需要在不可预知的灾害情况。但机器人领域仍然是非常处于起步阶段，并为挑战的期望应该记住这一点，普拉特说.

u0026 QUOT;这是非常重要的什么是真正的机器人技术就好了，你在看科学区分小说和电影，＆QUOT;他解释.

领域的州

在大多数情况下，那些已经广泛使用的机器人的类型是那些是静止的，或进行明确定义和重复的任务，如机器人在汽车制造工厂。被用于军事，例如其他机器人，具有有限的自主操作，并在很大程度上依赖于人的处理程序来控制他们的行动和决策.

u0026 QUOT;我们在哪里，现在，机器人大致在同一水平灵巧和一个1岁孩子的流动性，与QUOT;普拉特说。 ＆QUOT;他们倒下，他们放弃的东西从他们手中所有的时间＆mdash;在一般情况下，它们需要尝试的事情很多次以获得他们的权利。这是什么地方的领域现在和QUOT;

但机器人挑战赛可以改变这种.

u0026 QUOT; DARPA已经成功地使用激励为基础的挑战，在过去十年中，吸引来自世界各地的创新发展跨越式前进的技术能力，＆QUOT;普拉特说。 ＆QUOT;在刚果（金）的不同的参与将加强开放性的国际科学技术界的股份，并促使我们在未来，能够应对灾害的机器人可以帮助我们挽救生命和防止丢失和QUOT;

DARPA的机器人挑战赛审判是免费的，向公众开放。在活动中，其他组织和企业将展示相关技术的救灾和机器人.

跟随丹尼斯周先生在Twitter @denisechow。按照生活科学@livescience，Facebook和NBSP;＆安培; Google+的。原创文章对生活科学..,,"“Jīqìrén Olympics'- 17 jīqì xiá yùndòngyuán zhēngduó róngyào, zài DARPA tiǎozhàn sài