Help our team explore the future in robotics!
The World’s Most Ambitious Robotics Challenge:
Now in Progress
The world’s foremost roboticists, within the most advanced humanoid research and development organizations in the world, are competing in the most significant robotics trials ever to take place.
The DARPA Robotics Challenge aspires to further robotics development to aid disaster response and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is proud to be a part of this prestigious robotics competition.
Team DRC-Hubo@UNLV, led by Professor Paul Oh, Lincy Professor for Unmanned Aerial Systems at UNLV, will compete for $3.5 million in prizes and international prestige.
We invite you to learn more and support Team DRC-Hubo@UNLV.
Tasks Of The Challenge
To qualify, teams must demonstrate their robot system performing the following ten tasks:
- Drive the vehicle
- Get out of the vehicle
- Open a door and go through
- Negotiate debris (move it or walk over it)
- Use a tool to cut a hole in a wall
- Reach through the opening and open valve
- Cross terrain field including debris and pipes
- Insert a plug into a receptacle
- Climb stairs
- A surprise manipulation task
Robotic Finger Engineering:
The Gripping True Story

To date, organizations have struggled in the design and manufacture of robotic fingers. Robot fingers are difficult to make and manufacture because there are a lot of joint of degree of freedoms which requires many motors inside the hand to mimic human hand motion. Commercial off-the-shelf robotic hands are generally very weak; rendering them ineffective in grasping tasks, such as turning belts, removing debris, and operating hoses.
A new finger design dramatically increases the grasping power of the fingers of DRC-Hubo. A very powerful motor inside of the hands with numerous reduction gears provides more force – up to 200 Newtons. In layman’s terms, the robot can grasp and move a 20 kg object.

Contact Us
Contact Info
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
4505 S. Maryland Pkwy.
Las Vegas, NV 89154
For more information on Team DRC-Hubo and the DARPA Robotics Challenge, please email: drchubo@unlv.edu