In an effort to encourage robot development in a more efficient manner, DARPA has recently anounced that there will be a dedicated research funding for small business robotics research. Back in July, the US government had also determined Robotics as one of the priority Research and Development priorities of 2012 budget. Among the many purposes that the robots will be developed are, defense, healthcare and space exploration. DARPA set out the minimum criteria for the robots too. The machines need to exceed the human muscle safety and efficiency. Developing robots open source may bring many benefits, as more talent will be available working on the development, without dealing with the bureaucracy of official organizations.

Reference: www.fastcompany.com/1689620/got-a-robotic-idea-better-than-darpas-the-government-can-fund-you

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