The Pentagon’s research and development agency has announced a contest to develop ground robotic capabilities to execute complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, human-engineered environments. The program will focus on robots that can utilize available human tools, ranging from hand tools to vehicles.The DARPA Robotics Challenge will consist of three key events – a Virtual Disaster Challenge, and two (2) Disaster Response Challenges. Participation in the Virtual Disaster Challenge is required only for teams working exclusively on control software development. The agency has not yet announced how much it intends to spend on the program or the size of the prize but previous contest awarded two million dollars for the top prize with one million dollars for the runner up. The full contest details and registration can be found here.