DARPA Challenge Winner Transforms from Standing to Walking and Kneeling

Launched in response to a humanitarian need during the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, the DARPA Robotics Challenge has consisted of increasingly demanding annual competitions. The goal was to accelerate progress in robotics and hasten the day when robots have sufficient dexterity and robustness to enter areas too dangerous for humans and mitigate the impacts of natural or man-made disasters. The 2015 DRC was just held June 5-6 in Pomona, CA, with Team KAIST of Daejeon, Republic of Korea, and its robot DRC-Hubo taking top honors. DRC-Hubo is the latest version of HUBO, which stands for 'HUmanoid roBOt' and has been developed since 2002. It can transform from a standing position, used for biped walking, to a kneeling pose that is meant for wheeled and fast motion.