The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has named three additional teams that will compete in the finals of an agency-hosted robotics contest.DARPA expanded the list of finalists after Google-owned company SCHAFT, which earned the highest score during the robot trials in December, shifted to the competition’s self-funded segment, DARPA said March 21.
“The decision by Team SCHAFT to self-fund allows DARPA to expand the competition and further develop disaster response robots,†said Gill Pratt, a DARPA program manager.
ViGIR and THOR could receive funding of up to $500,000 each, while team KAIST will be self-funded.
The final round is scheduled to occur between December 2014 and June 2015 and DARPA will award a $2 million grand prize to the winning team.
