Google-owned SCHAFT robot wins DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials

The Google-owned Japanese robotics company SCHAFT has won the DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials by a wide margin. It scored 27 out of 32 points, beating its nearest competitor IHMC Robotics by seven points. Coming up third was Tartan rescue with 18 points, and MIT following that with 16 points.

The contest took place Dec. 20-21 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, where 16 teams from around the world did their best to guide their robots through a series of tasks. The robots were to be programmed in such a way that they could be guided by simple commands issued by a non-expert, e.g., "Open the door" or "Clear away the debris in front of you."

The object of the challenge, DARPA says, was to create a robot that could stand in for humans in disaster and emergency zones. In all, eight tasks were included: drive a vehicle; walk across rubble; remove debris; open a door and walk through it; climb a ladder and cross an industrial walkway; break a concrete panel with a tool made for humans; find and close a valve; and connect a fire hose to a pipe and open the valve.

The SCHAFT entry is a 216-pound robot based on the company's preexisting HRP-2 model. It is bipedal and stands 4.8 feet tall with a 4.3-foot wingspan. Business Insider says the SCHAFT robot is "ten times stronger than any other" in the DRC Trials.

Check out the SCHAFT robot performing the eight DRC Trials tasks in the sped-up video below. The tasks were actually performed at a much lower speed, as was the case for all of the robots in the competition. The suspension cables you see are for saving the robot in case of a fall; it is actually self-supporting and self-propelled.

The DRC Trials are the last stop along the way before next year's DRC Finals, where qualified robots will compete for DARPA's grand prize of $2 million. The Finals are to take place in December 2014.







SOURCE: Gizmodo

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Drone revealed as US Air Force targets hostile skies

Forget Amazon delivery 'drones the US Air Force’s latest unmanned stealth craft has reportedly already taken to the skies, potentially capable of mounting clandestine electronic' warfare in enemy territory. The drone, believed to be the RQ-180 and made as part of a potentially $2bn project by Northrop Grumman, is already running test flights ahead of full operations by 2015, it’s reported, and be focused on missions in airspace where the US Air Force’s existing, less stealthy unmanned craft cannot go.

Currently, Aviation Week reports, the Air Force primarily uses Global Hawk and Reaper drones, in less contentious airspace such as Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the military has supposedly been shopping for a less obvious craft which could slip unnoticed through the skies above countries where an American presence is less welcome.

Neither the Air Force nor Northrop Grumman would comment on the RQ-180 project, though the contract is believed to have been inked as far back as 2008. Financial reports from the manufacturer' suggest small-scale production of a new aircraft program began earlier in 2013.

Technical details are scant, though the RQ-180 is believed to be considerably larger than Northrop Grumman’s other recent 'unmanned project, the X-47B drone that was mistaken for a UFO last year. That has an extended wingspan of around 62 feet, whereas aerial photography' of shelters said to be for the new stealth drone suggest a potential wingspan of more than double that.

Despite the increase in size, it’s not known whether the RQ-180 will undertake strike missions. Instead, it may be more focused on 'stealth and electronic attacks, piloting a new radar-reducing cross-section design that can not only minimize the 'chance of discovery but allow the drone to fly higher, longer, and further afield. The image above is a concept, since the actual appearance of the craft has not been revealed.

As for payload, according to an unnamed defense official, the RQ-180 carries active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar which is 'known for allowing precise tracking but still being' difficult to detect over background noise, along with passive electronic' surveillance measures.

While the Air Force may not be commenting' on specifics, it has not shied from admitting' in the recent past that it is aiming' for greater clandestine abilities. “We are over-invested' in permissive ISR and we have to transform' the force to fight and win in contested' environments Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) Lt. Gen. Robert Otto said back in September. We will seek a more balanced fleet of both manned' and unmanned platforms that are able to penetrate' denied airspace and provide unprecedented levels of persistence.

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