Proving that things can be done well and in a hurry: Fifty-five people working in shifts 7AM to 5AM designed and built Valkyrie in nine months, including two weeks of government shutdown.

For DARPA’s upcoming Robotics Challenge Trials, here?s NASA?s 6-foot-2-inch humanoid, replete with detachable arms, sonar sensors mounted cameras and a robot passion to take it all at DARPA?s December 20th competition.

NASA claims that this Hollywood-handsome hunk of machine is as good as it looks: it’s mobile and dexterous enough to enter disaster zones, step through rubble, handle objects and perform tasks, even search and rescue.

DARPA?s expectations: Four key capabilities

• Mobility and dexterity to maneuver in the degraded environments typical of disaster zones
• Ability to manipulate and use a diverse assortment of tools designed for humans
• Ability to be operated by humans who have had little to no robotics training
• Partial autonomy in task-level decision-making based on operator commands and sensor inputs

Why’s DARPA doing all this?

“History has repeatedly demonstrated that humans are vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters, and there are often limitations to what we can do to help remedy these situations when they occur.

“Robots have the potential to be useful assistants in situations in which where humans cannot safely operate, but despite the imaginings of science fiction, the actual robots of today are not yet robust enough to function in many disaster zones nor capable enough to perform the most basic tasks required to help mitigate a crisis situation.”

The goal

To generate groundbreaking research and development in hardware and software that will enable future robots, in tandem with human counterparts, to perform the most hazardous activities in disaster zones, thus reducing casualties and saving lives.

Project and group lead for NASA JSC’s Dextrous Robotics Lab, Nicolaus Radford, told the IEEE that strong legs mean the robot’s capable of moving around “degraded environments” typical of disaster-stricken areas, and cameras mounted on its head, body, forearms, knees, and feet, allow it to provide visual information back to its handlers. Extra data can be provided by the robot’s sonar and lidar units.

Unlike DARPA’s own Atlas robot, Valkyrie doesn’t require a tether, running instead on a 2kWh battery stored on the machine’s back.

Valkyrie builds on the space agency’s previous humanoid robot, Robonaut, currently in orbit around the Earth in the International Space Station. Robonaut, built to work in zero-gravity environments, was the size and shape of a bulky humanoid torso.

Valkyrie’s powerful legs and lighter frame make it better adapted for operating on Earth, and a modular construction means the robot’s arms can be switched by humans “in a matter of minutes.”

In addition to the robot’s practical uses, Radford explains how his team was focused on creating an awesome-looking machine. Important in that design was a more humanoid aesthetic than most of NASA’s competitors in the DARPA challenge.

Valkyrie looks, moves, and even dresses like a human, wearing layers of fabric over its metal limbs. The fabric helps protect Valkyrie from falls, but Radford explains another reason for its material outerwear. “Our robot is soft. If you brush against it while you’re working, you don’t want to feel this cold, hard metal. You want it to feel natural, like you’re working next to another human being.”

Check out Valkyrie and its boss: