DRC-HUBO
DRC-HUBO is a transformable humanoid disaster-response robot developed by Team KAIST in partnership with Rainbow, Inc., based on the HUBO 2 platform. It won first place and the $2 million grand prize at the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in June 2015, completing all eight disaster-response tasks faster than any competitor.
Overview and Use Cases
DRC-HUBO is a teleoperated humanoid robot designed for disaster-response applications. The robot was developed by Team KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) in partnership with Rainbow, Inc., and built on the foundation of the HUBO 2 (KHR-4) platform. During competition, it was operated by a trio of human operators under high-latency, low-bandwidth teleoperation conditions, functioning as a supervised system rather than an autonomous platform.
The robot was engineered to perform complex task sequences in challenging environments, including manipulation tasks, locomotion over obstacles, and equipment operation. It successfully completed all eight disaster-response tasks at the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals.
Key Capabilities
The defining capability of DRC-HUBO is its transformability between two operational modes:
- Bipedal walking mode: Enables movement through complex terrain and navigation of stairs and obstacles
- Wheeled kneeling mode: Utilizes built-in knee wheels for rapid locomotion on flat or relatively smooth surfaces
This dual-mode locomotion system allows the robot to optimize between speed and terrain adaptability. The robot can perform precise manipulation tasks with its dual-arm system and is capable of operating tools and equipment designed for human use.
Specifications
- Height: 175 cm
- Weight: 80 kg
- Degrees of Freedom: 32 DOFs distributed across head (1), arms and hands (8×2), legs and wheels (7×2), and waist (1); some sources cite 38 DOF including additional hand and finger joints
- Locomotion speed: Approximately 3 km/h in wheeled mode; approximately 1.5 km/h in walking mode
- Battery life: Approximately 60 minutes, task-dependent
- Control architecture: Teleoperated with human supervisory control
Applications
DRC-HUBO was specifically developed for disaster-response scenarios, including:
- Navigation through damaged or unstable structures
- Operation of equipment and tools at disaster sites
- Task execution in environments hazardous to human responders
- Performance under communication constraints typical of disaster zones
Status
DRC-HUBO is not commercially available and remains a research platform operated by Team KAIST. The robot represents the state of disaster-response robotics as of the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals.
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