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December 31st, 2013 
Peter Nolan 
Susanne Posel
Occupy Corporatism
December 30, 2013
Since purchasing Boston Dynamics, Google has been at quite an advantage during the Robot Games hosted by DARPA.
The purpose of the contest has been to perfect the design of a search-and-rescue robot as outlined by the Pentagon Research and Development Unit which was inspired by the disaster at Fukushima.
Andy Rubin, now head of Google’s robotics endeavors, believes that the furtherance of robotic technology is “like any moonshot, you have to think of time as a factor. We need enough runway and a 10-year vision.”
Rubin sees the use of robots in everyday life as a bit of science fiction that can become reality with minimal effort.
It is an issue of developing the hardware and software, while investing in artificial intelligence start-ups in the US and Japan.
This could turn into a product of Google or a separate subsidiary that is contracted by 3rd parties or the US government.
It is part of Rubin’s plan to have both manufacturing and logistics under the sole control of Google to expand the confines of a typical tech corporation.
Rubin explained: “I feel with robotics it’s a green field. We’re building hardware, we’re building software. We’re building systems, so one team will be able to understand the whole stack.”
Gill Pratt, program manager for the Robot Games, said: “What we realized was that these robots couldn’t do anything other than observe. What they needed was a robot to go into that reactor building and shut off the valves. “We don’t want to burden human operators with saying ‘put your foot here, put your other foot here, put your hand there.’ The robots we see today are the robots of science fact, not science fiction. They’ll be slow, and they will often fail. But we hope today’s modest progress will be a good next step to help save mankind from disasters.”
DARPA is focused on using the innovation of the participants to create hardware and software to facilitate robotic use as vital for managing future disasters.
Host at the Homestead Miami Speedway, these robots have been challenged to a “grueling Olympics” wherein the “competitors will have to walk across uneven terrain, climb ladders and even drive a car.”
DARPA has outline tasks those entries must achieve to win the prize.
• Drive a utility vehicle along a pylon-lined course
• Cross a terrain that features ramps, steps and unfastened blocks
• Climb an 8ft-high (2.4m) ladder
• Remove debris blocking a doorway
• Pull open a lever-handled door
• Cut a triangular shape in a wall using a cordless drill
• Close three air valves, each controlled by a different-sized wheel or lever
• Unreel a hose and then screw its nozzle into a wall connector
Thor, an entry from RoMeLa researchers, was inspired by the disaster at Fukushima to build an autonomous robot that could be deployed to “dangerous situations so that humans don’t have to risk their lives.”
Track A Schaft Robot, who stands nearly 5 feet tall and weighs 209 pounds, is a corporation acquired by Google.
The HRP-2 robot created by Schaft is outfitted with “hardware and software modifications, including more powerful actuator systems, a walking/stabilization system, and a capacitor that replaces a battery.”
Lockheed Martin has entered their humanoid robot Atlas into the Games and the technology has been able to achieve the next level of challenges which is quite impressive.
Scott Whybrew, director of global manufacturing engineering vehicle systems at General Motors (GM), commented: “Typically we would put up these big gates to keep people and robotics separated. Human-safe robotics, though, gives us the ability for robots to work side-by-side with the operators.”
BMW, another contestant in the Games, sees the vision of a robotic future as viable.
Jose Saenz, research manager for Fraunhofer IFF, said : “Robots and humans working together are the best of both worlds. How can you have a robot carrying the load while a person guides it? These are future scenarios that we’ll be seeing soon.”
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