USA - Italy strong at Darpa Robotics Challenge

Italy was strong in competition at the Darpa Robotics Challenge in Pomona, where global robotics leader teams squared off. The prize was 2 million USD, to be assigned to the most useful robot to assist future human beings in responding to natural disasters. Competitions entrees had to be able to navigate an obstacle course within a maximum of one hour, during which it had to perform eight tasks: drive a vehicle, open a door, close a valve, cut a hole in a wall with a tool, remove obstacles, travel across uneven terrain, climb one or more stairs and bypass debris. Italy participated with the “Walkman”, built by the Italian Institute of Technology of Genoa in collaboration with the “E. Piaggio” research centre of Pisa. Read more, in Italian.