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"  HOMESTEAD\u2014MIAMI SPEEDWAY\u2014Gentlemen\u2026start your robots! DARPA&amp;#039;s Robotics Challenge (DRC) kicked off this morning, pitting 17 teams against one another in a series of eight physical challenges. The competition aims to develop robots that could one day come to the aid of humans in disaster situations. Each of the eight tasks from climbing a ladder to turning a valve is designed to mimic realistic obstacles that robots would encounter in catastrophes. Few teams are expected to attempt the most challenging task, driving a utility vehicle through a winding course. Teams are awarded points for completing tasks. Gill Pratt, project manager of DARPA&amp;#039;s Defense Sciences Office, says these trials are meant to gauge where the field of robotics is today and develop a tech baseline for future competitions. &amp;quot;I will be thrilled if the best team gets half of the points,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;[In these early trials,] you&amp;#039;re not going to see robots racing to the rescue\u2014you&amp;#039;ll see robots being deliberate to the rescue.&amp;quot; The teams come from five countries and represent government, academic and commercial organizations. They are competing for DARPA-funded slots in the 2014 DRC Finals; those with independent funding can advance automatically. China&amp;#039;s team, Intelligent Pioneer, did not make it to the event and will not compete. Photo by Brian Finke "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a9832/future-disaster-response-humanoids-compete-in-darpa-robot-olympics-16290666/>