The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) today announced that a team from Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) is one of six Track A teams chosen to compete this December in trials for the DARPA Robotics Challenge.

DARPA announced the trials will be Dec. 20-21 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida and will be open to the public.

The NREC team is now assembling its four-limbed robot, called the CMU Highly Intelligent Mobile Platform, or CHIMP. The human-size robot is designed to perform tasks, such as climbing ladders, driving vehicles and closing valves that must be accomplished during the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC).