Darpa Robotics Challenge: the search for the perfect robot
soldier  The US military's $2bn robot beauty pageant is all part
of its plan to maintain its technological superiority   •
theguardian.com,   • Jump to comments () Darpa robot Atlas For
the Darpa Robotics Challenge, the agency is offering as much as
$34m in awards money to contestants. Photograph: Darpa  The
Atlas robot looks something out of the post-apocalyptic future,
or maybe a Will Smith blockbuster. It's a 330lb cyborg with
eerily human-like hands and a head equipped with a laser. It
lunges forward with a grim, deliberate clatter on curved slices
of metal for feet.  This bot will be a first responder in times
of crisis, says the Pentagon – it's designed to use tools and
trudge through difficult terrain, heading into smoky, dangerous
areas that humans can't. With its human capabilities it could
also, not coincidentally, be a good soldier. This robot – named
Atlas after the Greek mythological hero who supported the world
on his back – is part of t