Using a cordless power drill, RoboSimian cuts a hole into a panel of drywall to complete one of the tasks in the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in Pomona, California, USA. The DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) was a prize competition held from 2012 to 2015, that aimed to develop semi-autonomous ground robots that could do complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, human-engineered environments. The DARPA Robotics Challenge calls upon competitor bots to complete a series of tasks, including driving a vehicle, using tools and climbing a ladder. The RoboSimian team at JPL is collaborating with partners at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. Image was taken on June 6, 2015. |