Sixteen robotics companies, including two owned by Google, competed in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Rescue Challenge last weekend, MIT Tech Review reported. The robots were tested on their ability to perform a series of rescue tasks similar to those required at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. Besides climbing over rubble and spraying a fire hose, the human-shaped, metallic participants needed to manipulate a valve representative of the one rescue workers risked their lives attempting to reach in the 2011 incident responsible for 1,600 deaths or more (as a result of future radiation poisoning).

As robots went through their simulations, they were really auditioning for the chance to one day assist seniors, according to the event's director, Gil Pratt.

"Most people don't realize that the military market is quite small compared to the commercial market. And the disaster marketplace is even smaller than that," Pratt said. "My feeling is that where these robots are really going to find their sweet spot is care for folks at the home-whether that's for an aging population or other uses in the home."

Basically, Pratt is sayiing events like Fukushima-Daiichi and Chenoble in 1986 are rare and would require more competent robots immediately in the disaster area and humans knowledgeable of their operation. Assisting seniors would convert to a more practical use, for the machines would be used daily.

Likely, the robots will have to continue to improve the rate at which they complete tasks to ensure they don't lose the patience of older members of the population. Programming robots to perform everyday tasks is difficult, "which explains why the robots worked at speeds that often felt exasperatingly slow," according to MIT Tech Review.

"The rough terrain requirements of going up and down slopes will not be as great, but the robots will certainly have to go up and down stairs; people will leave clutter all over the floor," said Pratt. "Because we arrange our houses to suit human beings, it's very important that the robots have the same competencies of locomotion and manipulation as human beings do."

No surprise, Google's entities finished in first and second place. Somewhat surprisingly, however (to those not in the know), it's most recent and highest profile acquisition, Boston Dynamics, finished a distant second to Schaft, a Tokyo University-based company which earned Jameis Winston-like 27 of 32 possible points for the win, MIT Tech Review reported.