Robots compete in Fukushima inspired US challenge .

The robot  named "HRP-2 Kal" developed by team AIST-NEDO from Japan attempts to open a door during the finals of the DARPA Robotics Challenge at the Fairplex complex in Pomona, California on o5 June .

         Robots compete in Fukushima inspired US challenge .

Robots from six countries including the United States ,Japan and South Korea went diode-to-diode Friday in a disaster response challenge inspired by the 2011Fukushima nuclear meltdown.

 The winner of  the DARPA  Robotics  Challenge [DRC] ,to be announced yesterday after a  two-day  competition in  California,  will take home  $2  million followed by $1 million for the runner-up and  $500,000 for  third place .

 But they will also win the kudos of triumphing after a three  -year robotics contest organized by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA],  which commissions    advanced research for the US Defense Department.

 ''The US military has an implicit mission to respond to humanitarian disaster relief. But in order to do so you need the tools to  effectively respond'', said DARPA official  Brad Tousley  .'in' many  cases you'd like to send robots into the places that it's very danger -ous for humans to go into,'' he told AFP, citing nuclear reactor disasters but also earthquakes and epidemics like Ebola.

 In all 24 mostly human-shaped both and their teams-12from the United states ,five from Japan ,there from South Korea ,two from Germany and one each from Italy and Hong Kong -won through to the finals.

 Over the two days ,each robot has two chances to compete on an obstacle course comprising eight tasks, includ-ing driving, going through a door, opening a valve, punch-ing through a wall and dealing with rubble and stairs.