The countdown to the DARPA Robotics Challenge has begun as the finals kick off tomorrow in Pomona, California.
A total of 24 teams will be competing to give us the ultimate disaster response robot and win the grand prize of $3.5m (£2.3m).
The aim of the challenge is to create a bot that will be able to function like a human in hazardous conditions with minimal expert supervision.
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The four-year old competition, conceived after the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster, will see each of the robots complete a circuit with a series of tasks including climbing stairs, clearing rubble, driving a vehicle, cutting through walls and performing a surprise task,
Meet the finalists: