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Japanese Bipedal Robot Wins DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials 2013

The DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) is a competition of robot systems and software teams vying to develop robots capable of assisting humans in responding to natural and man-made disasters. The DRC Trials took place December 20-21, 2013, at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, where sixteen teams guided their robots through eight physical tasks that test mobility, manipulation, dexterity, perception, and operator control mechanisms. The best eight teams will receive continued DARPA funding to compete in the Robotics Finals event, leading to one team winning a $2 million prize. DRC Team SCHAFT came in first, winning 27 points out of a possible 32. SCHAFT Inc. is a Tokyo, Japan-based company that is a spin-off of the University of Tokyo's Jouhou System Kougaku (JSK) Laboratory. Their S-One bipedal robot features high-output, water-cooled motor systems powered by capacitors.