Watch the World’s Most Nimble Robots Suffer 15 Spectacular Faceplants
Watch the World’s Most Nimble Robots Suffer 15 Spectacular Faceplants
1 minute read
Fans pose for photographs with Team Kaist's DRC-HUBO robot after its successful run during the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge at the Fairplex June 6, 2015 in Pomona, California.Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images
The Defense Department’s research agency awarded $2 million to the world’s most nimble robot on Sunday — but bear in mind that a “nimble” robot is still a bit reminiscent of a “nimble” toddler.
A compilation of slip-ups at the DARPA Robotics Challenge shows that despite the incredible progress robots have made accomplishing a variety of tasks, from opening doors to traversing rubble to turning valves, many are still struggling to stand on their own two feet (or four feet or wheels):
Laugh while you can. DARPA sponsored a similar competition for driverless vehicles in 2004, and there was no shortage of cars making funny U-turns and veering off roads:
In as little as a decade Google had driven down the error rate on driverless vehicles down to 13 minor accidents in six years, all of which it attributes to human error. They grow up so fast.
These Robots Have Their Own World Cup
Humanoid robots are seen at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn July 3, 2014.Ina Fassbender—ReutersResearch associates Larry Vadakedathu and Qin He work with one of their RoboCup entries, a 5-foot-tall metal humanoid named THOR (Tactical Hazardous Operations Robot), in the adult-size league at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 7, 2014.Matt Rourke—APRobocup Junior teams in RoboCup Robot Soccer Championship on July 21, 2014.Lorena Travassos—Fotoarena/CorbisMembers of the Rhoban project's team check functions of a humanoid robot at the LaBRI workshop in Talence, France on July 7, 2014. Regis Devignau—ReutersPeople work on the software of humanoid robots during a photo opportunity at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany on July 3, 2014. Ina Fassbender—ReutersStudents at the University of Pennsylvania work with one of their RoboCup entries known as Nao in Philadelphia on July 7, 2014.Matt Rourke—APThe first day of the RoboCup Robot Soccer Championship in João Pessoa, Brazil on July 21, 2014.Lorena Travassos—Fotoarena/CorbisA participant from the Netherlands prepares his humanoid robot for a soccer match in the international robotics competition in Tehran, Iran on April 10, 2014.Vahid Salemi—APHumanoid robots play during a soccer match while visitors follow the competition in the international robotics competition, RoboCup Iran Open 2014, in Tehran, Iran on April 10, 2014.Vahid Salemi—APTrophies won by humanoid robots at competitions are seen during a photo opportunity at the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany on July 3, 2014. Ina Fassbender—Reuters
