This one is for my Search and Rescue Colleagues (and geeks of all professions)….
Expanding on the theme of using robots to replace humans in potentially life threatening situations (think bomb disposal robots), the US Pentagon’s DARPA has held a Robotics Challenge, 2013 with the initial trials just completed. The robots were required to perform 8 tasks that test “mobility, manipulation, dexterity, perception, and operator control mechanisms”. The results are in, and the Japanese dominated the field – and were one of eight teams selected to move to the final event.
One team member termed the event “Woodstock for Robots”
Click here fore more information from the DARPA website.