What's in store for DARPA's annual robotics contest? ( video)

If all goes as planned, this June in Pomona Calif., 25 humanoid robots built by different companies will make their way through an obstacle course meant to resemble a disaster area. Started in 2012, the annual contest is hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon's high-tech research unit. DARPA had previously selected eleven companies as finalists. On Thursday, the agency announced the final 14. Gill Pratt, a program manager of the Robotics Challenge, told LiveScience that the participants will have one hour to finish the course, which involvesfirst driving a vehicle to a simulated disaster zone and walking about 30 feet through a field of obstacles. After that the robots must close a valve, do some wiring, cut a hole through a wall, climb stairs, and exit the building, according to the report.