<p>The Humanoid Robot Research Center (HUBO Lab) at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Rainbow Co., a spin-off venture company of the university, unveiled a new model of HUBO that will be entered in an international robotics competition scheduled later this year.</p><p>The competition is hosted and sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is called the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). Kicked off in October 2012, the DRC's goal is to spur the development of advanced robots that can assist humans in mitigating and recovering from future natural and man-made disasters.</p><p>KAIST's humanoid robot, HUBO, was originally created by Jun-Ho Oh, a distinguished professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, in 2004. Since then, the robot has gone through technological advancements, with the latest version of HUBO II released in 2012. So far, 12 HUBOs have been exported for further studies in robotics to universities, research institutes, and private companies in the US, China, and Singapore.</p><p>In tandem with Rainbow Co., Professor Oh and his research team recently developed DRC-HUBO, which will compete as Team DRC-HUBO led by Drexel University at the DRC trials to be held in December 2013. Team DRC-HUBO is consisted of KAIST and nine US institutions. DRC-HUBO can switch from bipedal to quadrupedal walking, which provides the robot with greater stability to walk on uneven terrain or to climb up a hill. Credit: KAIST HUBO Lab &amp; Rainbow Co.</p><p><a href="http://phys.org/news/2013-07-hubo-ready-darpa-robotics-trials.html">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://drexel.edu/now/news-media/releases/archive/2013/July/DRC-HUBO-PhaseII/">DARPA Deems Drexel-Led Team &#039;On Track&#039; For First Robotics Challenge Trial</a> (DrexelNow)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dbNwEHSPnrnrl3Myd7nFSQUEKEa_M&ned=us">6 additional articles.</a></p>