VRC - Virtual Robotics Challenge from DARPA

The Faculty has formed a self-funded (DARPA track D) “Team HKU” (name to be later determined) comprised of a group of researchers, from both inside and outside the Faculty

Team HKU will use a Boston Dynamics “Atlas” robot, and a laboratory to support our work is undergoing preparation. Team HKU will have advantages of an assured spot in the final competition, use of the best robot for the competition, and early access to key components.

hku link

DARPA is announcing the results of the Virtual Robotics Challenge (VRC) portion of the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). The six top teams will each be receiving a bunch of money, plus a Boston Dynamics ATLAS robot of their very own, which they'll use to compete in the DRC trials later this year. Let's see who won!

VRC Winning Teams:

• Team IHMC, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, Pensacola, Fla. (Track B, 52 points)
• WPI Robotics Engineering C Squad (WRECS), Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass. (Track C, 39 points)
• MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. (Track B, 34 points)
• Team TRACLabs, TRACLabs, Inc., Webster, Texas (Track B, 30 points)
• JPL / UCSB / Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. (Track B, 29 points)
• TORC, TORC / TU Darmstadt / Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. (Track B, 27 points)
• Team K, Japan (Track C, 25 points)
• TROOPER, Lockheed Martin, Cherry Hill, N.J. (Track C, 24 points)

• Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio (Track C, 23 points) 

 Additional funds are being allocated to a newly formed team of Team K and Case Western. That team, now known as HKU, will use an ATLAS robot generously donated to it by Hong Kong University to participate in the DRC Trials in December.

IEEE Spectrum link

In December, teams from around the world will send their state-of-the-art robots through eight trials. The winners from this month's competition will be competing using a DARPA-supplied robot, which will be loaded with their custom software.
The winners are given use of an Atlas robot, developed by Boston Dynamics and based on the company's Petman platform. The Atlas is impressive, Pratt said. "It will be able to walk on its own, balance on its own. I've seen it take a hit from a medicine ball and not fall over."

yahoo news

update: ( 10 Jan 2014)