Robot enthusiasts, the time has come. The DARPA Robotics Challenge begins today. Will you be part of it?
Over the next two years, teams will compete to develop and put to the test hardware and software designed to enable robots to assist humans in emergency response when a disaster strikes. Based on proposals submitted in response to a Broad Agency Announcement , DARPA has selected and will provide funding for seven teams in Track A of the DRC to develop new robotic systems containing both hardware and software and 11 teams in Track B to develop software only.
Registration is just beginning for participation in Tracks C and D.
Track C of the Challenge provides an opportunity for individuals and teams from around the world to compete without the need for hardware. Anyone with the skills to develop the software needed to advance core robotic software capabilities can register and participate using the open-source DRC Simulator. Expertise in software for robotic perception, planning, control and human-robot interface, and experience in physics-based games, models and simulation, as well as open-source code, will all be useful.
Participants also need to be motivated since the first DRC event, the Virtual Robotics Challenge, is scheduled to take place only eight months from now in June 2013, and a qualifying round is planned to be held in the Simulator in May. In both rounds, Track C teams would face off against Track B performers on an equal footing. After only one month of development, the Simulator is currently available in beta version 1.0 and will be improved throughout the coming months for DARPA by the Open Source Robotics Foundation. Over time, it will be increasingly populated with models of robots, perception sensors and field environments, and function as a cloud-based, real-time, operator-interactive virtual test bed that uses physics-based models of inertia, actuation, contact and environment dynamics.
With the cooperation of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Simulator will be rigorously validated, meaning users can confidently leverage it as a resource to test software. "The DRC Simulator is going to be one of DARPA's legacies to the robotics community," said Gill Pratt, DARPA program manager for the DRC. "One of DARPA's goals for the Challenge is to catalyze robotics development across all fields so that we as a community end up with more capable, more affordable robots that are easier to operate. The value of a cloud-based simulator is that it gives talent from any location a common space to train, design, test and collaborate on ideas without the need for expensive hardware and prototyping. That opens the door to innovation.
"Track C participants will not receive DARPA funding unless they qualify and are selected to advance beyond the Virtual Robotics Challenge, at which point they, along with select Track B teams, will also receive Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE) in the form of a modified robot platform based on the Atlas robot developed for DARPA by Boston Dynamics.
Track D is an option for teams from around the world that desire to develop both robotic hardware and software in pursuit of the common goal of effective disaster-response robots, but without DARPA funding. Like the performers in Track A, Track D participants are encouraged to develop robots of any form, not just humanoids. And while DARPA's GFE robot will be hydraulic, Track D robots could be actuated electrically, pneumatically or with a hybrid method. Track D participants may use the Simulator at their discretion, but their focus will be on participating in the live challenge events in 2013 and 2014.
"We're very excited for and supportive of international participation in the DRC," Pratt said. "Just as natural and man-made disasters are common worldwide challenges, what the response to the DRC has shown is that the international robotics community shares a common goal of advancing robotic technology to the point where it can have a tangible and positive impact on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Through the DRC, DARPA is providing the forum, tools and incentives to come together and take steps toward that goal."
The range of designs submitted by the selected Track A performers reflects DARPA's emphasis that while the robots competing in the DRC must be able to operate in human-engineered environments, they do not have to be humanoid in form. The seven Track A teams are led by: Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center, Drexel University, Raytheon, SCHAFT Inc., Virginia Tech, NASA's Johnson Space Center and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
On the software side, the selected Track B performers reflect a variety of talent pools and include: Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Laboratories, RE2, University of Kansas, Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, TRAC Labs, University of Washington, Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, Ben-Gurion University, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and TORC Robotics.
WASHINGTON -- NASA and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass., have opened registration and are seeking teams to compete in next year's robot technology demonstration competition, which offers as much as $1.5 million in prize money.
During the 2013 NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Challenge, teams will compete to demonstrate a robot can locate and retrieve geologic samples from a wide and varied terrain without human control. The objective of the competition is to encourage innovations in automatic navigation and robotic manipulator technologies. Innovations stemming from this challenge may improve NASA's capability to explore a variety of destinations in space, as well as enhance the nation's robotic technology for use in industries and applications on Earth. The competition is planned for June 2013 in Worcester, Mass., attracting competitors from industry and academia nationwide.
NASA is providing the prize money to the winning team as part of the agency's Centennial Challenges competitions, which seek unconventional solutions to problems of interest to the agency and the nation. While NASA provides the prize purse, the competitions are managed by non-profit organizations that cover the cost of operations through commercial or private sponsorships.
"We've opened registration and are eager to see returning teams, and new challengers, enter this second Sample Return Robot Challenge," said NASA Space Technology Program Director Michael Gazarik at the agency's Headquarters in Washington.
"Contests like NASA's Centennial Challenges are an excellent example of government sparking the engine of American innovation and prosperity through competition while keeping our nation on the cutting edge of advanced robotics technology. Teams from academia, industry and even citizen-inventors are all invited to join the competition and help NASA solve real technology needs. With a $1.5 million prize purse, we're looking forward to seeing some great technology that will enable our future missions and advance robotics right here in America."
The first Sample Return Robot Challenge, which took place in June, also was held at WPI. While almost a dozen teams entered the competition, none qualified to compete for the prize purse. NASA and WPI are partnering again to repeat and advance the competition, which is expected to draw more competitors and greater technological innovation from among the teams.
"We're honored and excited to once again host the Sample Return Robot Challenge," said WPI President and CEO Dennis Berkey. "This year, 7,000 people turned out to watch the competition, which was the first of its kind on the East Coast, and to enjoy WPI's fantastic Touch Tomorrow Festival of Science, Technology and Robots. This university is a hub of expertise and innovation within the area of robotics, and it's a pleasure to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in the wonders of this competition, this festival, and this emerging field."
There have been 23 NASA Centennial Challenges competition events since 2005, and through this program NASA has awarded more than $6 million to 15 different challenge-winning teams. Competitors have included private companies, student groups and independent inventors working outside the traditional aerospace industry. Unlike contracts or grants, prizes are awarded only after solutions are successfully demonstrated.
WPI is one of the only universities to offer bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in robotics engineering. In 2007, the university was the first in the nation to offer a bachelor's degree program in this area. Through its Robotics Resource Center, WPI supports robotics projects, teams, events and K-12 outreach programs. Each year, WPI manages at least seven competitive robotics tournaments and also has sponsored programs that foster the use of robots to solve important societal problems and encourage consideration of the societal implications of this new area of technology.
The Centennial Challenges program is part of NASA's Space Technology Program, which is innovating, developing, testing, and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. NASA's Space Technology Program and the Centennial Challenges are creating new technological solutions for NASA and our nation's future.
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., April 23, 2012 – The Golden State grew a bit brighter this weekend as more than 10,000 participants comprised of middle school, high school and university students, educators and team mentors from nearly 20 countries around the globe showcased their smarts in the fierce three-day 2012 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship at the Anaheim Convention Center. After the final points were tallied, the winning alliance from each division was comprised of teams from Canada, China, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the United States, who took home the coveted World Championship trophies.
Six hundred of the nearly 5,000 VEX Robotics Competition teams qualified to face-off in the robot ring against their toughest competitors at this year's VEX Robotics Competition World Championship after battling in more than 300 local, regional and national tournaments around the world during the season. Beginning on Thursday, the global competition kicked off with preliminary qualification rounds. Friday morning, students took part in the opening ceremonies parade of nations, bearing their respective countries' brilliant flags, followed by a series of intense head-to-head matches throughout the afternoon. The festivities reached a crescendo on Saturday as the division champion alliances worked together to defeat their competition in the Finals. Kicking-off the Finals, participants were set aglow by iLuminate, the awe-inspiring dance-in-the-dark sensation that took audiences by storm last summer on the hit television series "America's Got Talent. "The performance was led by Miral Kotb, iLuminate founder and software engineer who developed the patent-pending wireless lighting technology.
The Tournament Champion Alliance from the Middle School Division was comprised of team 8066A, Atom, from Singapore; team 5199A, Shanghai Shibei Junior Middle School, from Shanghai, China; and team 2300B, Robinson Middle School B, from San Juan, Puerto Rico.The Tournament Champion Alliance from the High School Division was comprised of team 569, NHRC, from Murrieta, Calif.; team 2900A, SymbiOHsis, from Auckland, New Zealand; and team 2W, Robosavages, from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.The Tournament Champion from the College Division was team TGTZ1, from LaUniversidad Tecnológicade Gutierrez Zamora, in Veracruz, Mexico.
In addition, one team from each of the three divisions was presented with an Excellence Award, the highest honor in the VEX Robotics Competition, given to the teams with the most well-rounded VEX Robotics Program. Team 2177, The F.I.V.E, from Oconomowoc, Wis. took home the Middle School Excellence Award; team 3018, TechnaPwn Robotics, from Council Bluffs, Iowa took home the High School Excellence Award; and teamTSM1, Semex1, from Tejupilco, Mexico took home the College Division Excellence Award.
"We worked so hard to get here, and our whole team rose to the challenge that was before us in ways we didn't even know was possible," said Vinayak Pillai from team 569, NHRC, part of the High School Division Tournament Champion Alliance from Murrieta, Calif. "Each year VEX Worlds gets bigger, becomes more impressive, and the competition gets fiercer. Even if we didn't win today, this event is something that we will remember for the rest of our lives."
"It is so inspiring to see the high-level of energy, dedication and professionalism that teams from around the world bring into the arena at the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship," said Jason Morrella, president of the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation. "If the excitement we see each year at the VEX Robotics Competitions is anything compared to these kids' in-classroom fervor for science, technology, engineering and math, these students are destined to succeed in any STEM related career of their choosing and become the thought leaders and innovators of our future."
When students were not competing in the robot ring, they had the once-in-a-lifetime the chance to meet Nobel Prize Award Winner and Stanford University Professor Emeritus of Physics, Dr. Douglas D. Osheroff, who was present signing autographs and taking pictures alongside a VEX Claw Bot that held the gold medallion. Attendees were also inspired by replicas of NASA's famous Mars Exploration Rovers Curiosity and Opportunity, which were be on display during all three days of the competition. Additionally, FutureLab: The Innovation Expo gave young students hands on learning experiences to encourage them to consider studying scientific and technological ideas and processes involved with nanotechnology, deep space exploration, robotics, alternate energy, virtual reality and human genomics.
For those competitors eager to get a jump on next year's robot designs, the 2012/2013 VEX Robotics Competition gameSack Attack was unveiled at the tournament on Saturday afternoon. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than your opponent by picking up colored bean bags and placing them in a scoring trough that runs the length of the field. Robots will also gain points for finishing in designated areas at the end of a match.
Partners and sponsors of the 2012 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship include Autodesk, NASA, EMC Corporation, the Northrop Grumman Foundation, Microchip Technology, intelitek, Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University, Innovation First International, the United States Coast Guard Academy, the Technology Student Association, the CREATE Foundation and the FUTURE Foundation. In addition, VEX Robotics continually reaches students in the classroom through key partnerships with notable education-based organizations, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and Technology Students Association (TSA).
In addition to the Excellence Awards and Middle School, High School and College Champion titles, several other technical and value-based awards were presented to the below listed teams and individuals in each program for excelling in the following categories:
For more information about the VEX Robotics World Championship and this year's award winners, please visit RobotEvents.com/championship.
The REC Foundation, standing for Robotics Education and Competition, is a 501© (3) non-profit organization, supports robotics and technology events and programs that aim to inspire and motivate students to advance in STEM education. In addition to supporting competitions for some of the world's leading robotics platforms and organizations including VEX, TSA, BOTBALL and BEST, the foundation also provides program support and workshops focused on technology and professional development for educators – including the RobotEvents.com community portal website which helps promote multiple high quality programs and provides online registration and event pages for hundreds of events around the world.
VEX Robotics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Innovation First International, is a leading provider of educational robotics products to middle schools, high schools and colleges around the world. The VEX Robotics Design System, winner of the 2006 Best of Innovations Award at CES, was built from the ground up and designed to be an affordable, accessible and scalable platform used to teach science, technology, engineering and math education worldwide. The company has over 250 man years of experience supporting educational robotics programs and extensive engineering resources on two continents dedicated to the VEX Robotics platform. For more information on the VEX Robotics Design System, visit www.vexrobotics.com.
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., April 17, 2012–More than 10,000 participants comprised of the world's brightest middle school, high school and university students, educators and mentors, from nearly 20 countries around the globe, will compete in the intense 2012 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship, to beheld with free admission to the general public at the Anaheim Convention Centeron April 19-21, 2012. Families and local community members who attend will have the chance to meet Nobel Prize Award Winner and Stanford University Professor Emeritus of Physics, Dr. Douglas D. Osheroff, and will get a rare glimpse at replicas of NASA's Curiosity and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers.
The VEX Robotics Competition, presented by the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation, appeals to today's intensely competitive generation of students and represents the perfect storm of applied physics, mathematics, computer programming, digital prototyping, integrated problem solving, teamwork and leadership. The 2012 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship serves as the pinnacle event of the season for the fastest growing educational and competitive robotics program in the world. This year, 600 out of the nearly 5,000 VEX Robotics Competition teams have earned the right to bring their robotic creations to "The Golden State" and face off in the robot ring with their toughest competitors playing the 2011-2012 season game VEX Gateway.
"The VEX Robotics Competition, now in its fifth year, continues to inspire, motivate and prepare kids for a future in advanced STEM education and related professions," said Jason Morrella, president of the REC Foundation. "We are grateful for the support of our sponsors, led by Autodesk, NASA, EMC and Northrop Grumman, who are dedicated to helping prepare these students to become the qualified and talented employees they seek to hire. We are collectively encouraged by watching these powerful young minds working together, competing on the international stage and having this much fun with robotics."
Attending teams qualified for the tournament after dedicating countless hours designing, building, programming and honing their strategy skills to outperform others throughout the year at more than 300 local, regional and national VEX Robotics Competition events. The teams build their customized robots using the VEX Robotics Design System to compete against the best of the best playing Gateway, a game that takes placeon a 12'x12' square field where two alliances composed of two teams each compete against one another. Each match consists of a twenty-second autonomous period where robots are controlled by onboard software programmed by the students, followed by two minutes of human-operated play. The object of the G
ateway game is to attain a higher score than your opponent by directing your robot to pick up colored balls and barrels and placing them in circular goals of varying heights.
In addition to the middle and high school divisions of the VEX Robotics Competition, the 2012 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship will put nearly 50 university teams in the spotlight as they strive for the VEX Robotics College Challenge World Champion title.
Students and adults alike will be inspired by replicas of NASA's famous Mars Exploration Rovers Curiosity and Opportunity, which will be on display during all three days of the competition. Curiosity is slated to land on the red planet on Aug. 6, 2012, and Opportunity recently began its ninth year of Mars missions. Additionally, FutureLab: The Innovation Expo will also be present to give young students hands on learning experiences to encourage them to consider studying scientific and technological ideas and processes involved with nanotechnology, deep space exploration, robotics, alternate energy, virtual reality and human genomics.
iLuminate, the awe-inspiring dance-in-the-dark sensation that took audiences by storm last summer on the hit television series "America's Got Talent," will cheer on the young engineers with an explosive performance at the final competition on Saturday evening. iLuminatefounder and software engineer, Miral Kotb, who developed the patent-pending wireless lighting technology, will also serve as the master of ceremonies at the final award ceremony.
Partners and sponsors of the 2012 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship include Autodesk, NASA, EMC Corporation,the Northrop Grumman Foundation, Microchip Technology, intelitek, Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University, Innovation First International, iD Tech Camps, the United States Coast Guard Academy, the Technology Student Association, the CREATE Foundation and the FUTURE Foundation. In addition, VEX Robotics continues to reach students in the classroom through key partnerships with notable education-based organizations such as Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and Technology Students Association (TSA).
Fans can follow the competition and sign up for real-time competition news and results via live streamcasts, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube updates. Real time tournament results are also available through VEX via, an iPhone and Android compatible app, which provides match schedules, rankings and scores.For more information visit RobotEvents.com/championship.
The REC Foundation, standing for Robotics Education and Competition, is a 501©(3) non-profit organization, supports robotics and technology events and programs that aim to inspire and motivate students to advance in STEM education. In addition to supporting competitions for some of the world's leading robotics platforms and organizations including VEX, TSA, BOTBALL and BEST, the foundation also provides program support and workshops focused on technology and professional development for educators – including the RobotEvents.com community portal website which helps promote multiple high quality programs and provides online registration and event pages for hundreds of events around the world.
VEX Robotics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Innovation First International, is a leading provider of educational robotics products to middle schools, high schools and colleges around the world. The VEX Robotics Design System, winner of the 2006 Best of Innovations Award at CES, was built from the ground up and designed to be an affordable, accessible and scalable platform used to teach science, technology, engineering and math education worldwide. The company has over 250 man years of experience supporting educational robotics programs and extensive engineering resources on two continents dedicated to the VEX Robotics platform. For more information on the VEX Robotics Design System, visit www.vexrobotics.com.
