DARPA Robotics Challenge Showcases Cutting Edge In Artificial Intelligence

POMONA, CA - JUNE 06: Virginia Tech's Team Valor semi-autonomous ESCHER (Electromechanical Series Compliant Humanoid for Emergency Response) robot uses LIDAR laser mapping to create a 3-D image of its surroundings during the second day of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge at the Fairplex June 6, 2015 in Pomona, California. Organized by DARPA, the Pentagon's science research group, 24 teams from aorund the world are competing for $3.5 million in prize money that will be awarded to the robots that best respond to natural and man-made disasters. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)