Valkyrie steps forth as DARPA robotics contender
(Phys.org) —The clock is ticking for robot enthusiasts who are eager to see what happens on the big day, December 20, for the 17 teams competing in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge. The event scheduled for Dec. 20 and 21 in Florida is where the robots will be tested on the capabilities that would enable them to provide assistance in future natural and man-made disasters. On Tuesday, curiosity and expectations were ratcheted up significantly with the unveiling of NASA's Johnson Space Center entry, a humanoid robot called Valkyrie (R5). This is a 6-foot-two-inch, battery operated robot weighing 286 pounds with 44 degree of freedom. (The Valkyrie has seven degree of freedom arms, for example, with actuated wrists and six degree of freedom hands. Each hand has three fingers and a thumb.)