The teams competing in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) got their first look at an upgraded Atlas robot last week, which will help one group emerge victorious in the June 2015 finals.

According to DARPA, the new robot is 75 percent new; only its lower legs and feet were re-used on the upgraded Atlas. The 6'2" Atlas—initially developed by Google-owned Boston Dynamics—weighs in at 345 pounds, but the use of lighter materials meant Atlas can accommodate a battery and new pump system.

"The introduction of a battery and variable-pressure pump into Atlas poses a strategic challenge for teams," Gill Pratt, program manager for the DRC, said in a statement. "The operator will be able to run the robot on a mid-pressure setting for most operations to save power, and then apply bursts of maximum pressure when additional force is needed. The teams are going to have to game out the right balance of force and battery life to complete the course."

That new pump, however, means Atlas is much quieter than before, DARPA said. If things get out of hand, though, Atlas now has a wireless emergency stop.

The DRC dates back to 2012 (slideshow above). Select teams participated in a software challenge in mid-2013, and later that year, the DRC trials tested the robots' ability to perform real-world rescue and disaster-response missions. The DRC finals will be held in Pomona, Calif. on June 5-6, and DARPA expects about 20 teams to participate.

Seven of those teams will be using Atlas robots, and DARPA said members will get them by month's end. Among the other upgrades are:

• Repositioned shoulders and arms allow for increased workspace in front of the robot and let the robot view its hands in motion, thus providing additional sensor feedback to the operator.
• New electrically actuated lower arms will increase strength and dexterity and improve force sensing.
• The addition of an extra degree of freedom in the wrist means the robot will be able to turn a door handle simply by rotating its wrist as opposed to moving its entire arm.
• Three onboard perception computers are used for perception and task planning, and a wireless router in the head enables untethered communication.
• Re-sized actuators in the hip, knee, and back give the robot greater strength.

"Given their identical hardware, the Atlas teams will have to differentiate themselves through software, control interfaces, and competition strategy," DARPA said.

All that hard work will pay off handsomely, though. The DRC has a $2 million grand prize, and DARPA just upped the total pot to $3.5 million because the runner-up now gets $1 million, while third place gets $500,000.

How do they get that money? In the finals, a team's robot will have to operate completely on its own (no power cords, wires, tethers, etc.) and communicate with its owner over a secure wireless network. If a robot falls or gets stuck, it will have to get out by itself without help from a team member. If it can't, it's game over.

To make things more complicated, DARPA said it will "intentionally degrade communications between the robots and human operators working at a distance," which is something the robots would probably face if they went into disaster zone. "Spotty communication will force the robots to make some progress on their own during communications blackouts," DARPA said.

Check out the new and improved Atlas in the video below.