International Teams Prepare For DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals

By B.J. Murphy

The DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals are coming up and there’s a whole new list of international competitors who are ready to get their feet wet. Competing alongside the original 11 teams, from Team MIT to Team RoboSimian, the competition will start on June 5, at Fairplex in Pomona, California. These human-robot teams will be challenging themselves, as DARPA hopes, to ensure future reliability in advanced robotics to help in disaster relief situations.

“The diverse participation indicates not only a general interest in robotics, but also the priority many governments are placing on furthering robotic technology. As this technology becomes increasingly global, cooperating with the United States in areas where there is mutual concern, such as disaster response and homeland security, stands to benefit every country involved.” – Gill Pratt, Program Manager for DARPA Robotics Challenge

Germany

Team Hector (Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt)
Team NimbRo Rescue (University of Bonn, Bonn)

Hong Kong

Team HKU (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

Italy

Team WALK-MAN (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa; University of Pisa, Pisa)

Japan

Team Aero (University of Tokyo, Tokyo)
Team AIST-NEDO (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo)
Team HRP2-Tokyo (University of Tokyo, Tokyo)
Team NEDO-Hydra (University of Tokyo, Tokyo)
Team NEDO-JSK (University of Tokyo, Tokyo; Chiba Institute of Technology, Chiba; Osaka University, Osaka; Kobe University, Kobe)

Photo Credit: DARPA

People’s Republic of China

Team Intelligent Pioneer (Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changzhou)

South Korea

Team ROBOTIS (ROBOTIS, Seoul)
Team SNU (Seoul National University, Seoul)

United States

Team DRC-Hubo @ UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Team Grit (Grit Robotics, Grand Junction, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, Colo.; AutonomouStuff, LLC, Morton, Ill.; Harbrick, Moscow, Idaho)

March 5, 2015 By B.J. Murphy

About the author

B.J. Murphy is the Editor and Social Media Manager of Serious Wonder. He is a futurist, philosopher, activist, author and poet. B.J. is an Affiliate Scholar for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) and an Ambassador for the robotics company Humai.