DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Using Human-Machine Teamwork to Perform Disaster Response with a Humanoid Robot

Abstract : This report presents an overview of the work done by Team Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) from 2012-2016 through three phases of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge (Virtual Robotics Challenge (VRC), Trials, and Finals), as well as an extended research phase. It gives an overview of their general workflow for producing state-of-the-art robotics software, as well as focusing on the challenges and techniques used to move beyond the environments and tasks encountered in the DARPA Robotics Challenge. Namely, increasing walking robustness and task autonomy in the Atlas robot. This report is broken down into the four phases of IHMCs participation in the DARPA Robotics Challenge: Phase 1, Virtual Robotics Challenge; Phase 2, Trials; Phase 3, Finals; and Phase 4, Extended Research. As competitor in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) the IHMC team was able to achieve second place in the final stage of the competition held in the summer of 2015. Previous to that the team was awarded first and second place in the two earlier stages of the competition: the VRC, and the DRC Trials.