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Finals

Systems Competition

Welcome to DARPA Triage Challenge Finals, and greetings from Disaster City in College Station, Texas!

We will be providing daily photo updates every weekday of the competition. Follow along with us.

Let's get the DARPA Triage Challenge started! All Systems teams are now on site at Disaster City in College Station, Texas.
Let's get the DARPA Triage Challenge started! All Systems teams are now on site at Disaster City in College Station, Texas. | Download Source: DARPA | Tom Shortridge
Resources

 

Watch the awards ceremony recap.

Meet the Teams and Staff

From leading universities and research institutes to startups and global collaborators, teams are developing groundbreaking solutions to assess casualties and support medical responders. Behind the scenes, staff help make the competition possible.

Nov. 11, 2026

Team DART | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
DARPA Triage Challenge staff. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A TEEX Research Initiatives program director, left, retired Col. Jeremy Pamplin, M.D., DARPA Triage Challenge program manager, center, and a test director, right, honor warfighters during a Veterans Day ceremony at the DARPA Triage Challenge. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team RoboScout and their medic celebrate a successful run on the HMT day course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team RoboScout's Apollo UGV analyzes a role player's simulated injuries and vitals during an HMT day course run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A U.S. Army Lt. Col. with the 75th Innovation Command wears a virtual reality headset displaying a 360-degree view of a course run from a medic's perspective. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A member of team DRONE engages the team's UAV for autonomous flight during a run at Gate 4. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team RoboScout's assigned medic tends to a role player's simulated injuries. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Representatives at the DARPA Triage Challenge expo registration desk welcome event staff. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks

Nov. 10, 2026

Team Chiron | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team Guardian Angel | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team RoboScout and their medics. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team TTT | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team AIR TAGS calibrate the GPS on their UAV. Normally, airflow from the propellers keeps the onboard computer cool, but during ground calibration, the computer must be cooled with a small fan. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Human-Machine Teaming (HMT) Lanes

Teams underwent a human-machine teaming exercise in which autonomous systems and medics collaborate to demonstrate the full potential of rapid, life-saving triage.

Nov. 9, 2026

A medic treats a role player's injuries during an HMT day course run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Members of team Chiron supervise their autonomous systems on the HMT night course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A role player calls for help as a team RoboScout UGV surveys the Human-Machine Teaming (HMT) day course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team RoboScout's Apollo UGV enters a building in search of casualties during an HMT night run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Sparks fly from downed electrical wires as role players call for help on the HMT day course, which simulates severe tornado damage in an urban environment. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medics operate Team Awareness Kits (TAKs) being driven by real-time casualty status data from team Chiron. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A human supervisor from the University of Pennsylvania's team Pronto monitors live data streams during an HMT day course run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets member receives a role player costume. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A controlled explosion erupts on the HMT night course as RoboScout's UGV searches for casualties and role players take cover from the blast. The course is designed to simulate an attack on a forward operating base. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
The University of Pennsylvania's Team Pronto prepares its systems for a run on the HMT day course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A medic sprints through thick smoke to reach casualties on the HMT night course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Texas A&M University cadets are briefed on their duties as role players in the DARPA Triage Challenge. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Texas A&M University cadets and other role players have simulated injury moulage applied. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks

B-roll | HMT Day and Night Courses

Day course

More information on DVIDs
Source: DARPA

Night course

More information on DVIDs
Source: DARPA


Medics Assigned

Teams continue runs and are assigned medics they will partner with for the Human-Machine Teaming course.

Nov. 8, 2026

UAS-DTU makes adjustments to their UGV before a run on Gate 2 and 3. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A TTT team member conducts flight tests on the practice course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Teams are assigned the medics they will partner with for the Human-Machine Teaming course, in which teams and medics work together to rapidly triage casualties. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medics gather in the Disaster City theater for an award presentation. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Gates

Teams begin scored runs on individual component testing Gates.

Nov. 7, 2026

Team ACTIV's UGVs navigate thick smoke at Gate 1, testing their sensors and computer vision. Resilient triage systems must be able to operate across a variety of degraded environments. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team DART's UAVs launch simultaneously on Gates 2 and 3. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team AIR TAGS supervises their UAV's flight over Gates 2 and 3. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Overview of team garages. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A Guardian Angel team member watches as their UAV launches into the smoky haze of Gate 1. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks

Nov. 6, 2026

Team Chiron preps UAVs for launch at Gate 1. | Download Source: DARPA | Tom Shortridge
Team ACTIV prepares a UGV for their first run at DTC Finals. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team DRONE reviews network systems at their tent to prepare for their run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A role-player with a simulated leg injury calls for help. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
DTC staff and Team Dart view a screen showing the current locations of their UAVs on Gate 1. | Download Source: DARPA | Tom Shortridge
Team Chiron UAVs take off from the Gate 1 launch zone. | Download Source: DARPA | Tom Shortridge
Team Roboscout trains a medic on the use of their human-machine teaming interface. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks

B-roll | Team Garages and Gates

Team garages

Get an inside look at the team garages. More information on DVIDs
Source: DARPA

Gate 1

Platforms must autonomously locate as many casualties as possible, as quickly as they can. More information on DVIDs
Source: DARPA

Gates 2 and 3

When time is of the essence, teams must identify severely injured casualties within minutes. Using sophisticated onboard sensors, teams will report on injury types and casualty locations. More information on DVIDs
Source: DARPA

Gate 4

Teams will accurately report on vital signs such as heart and respiration rates. Scores from this optional gate will add to the aggregate score for teams choosing to participate. More information on DVIDs
Source: DARPA


Kickoff

All teams are now on site at Disaster City in College Station, Texas.

Nov. 5, 2026

DARPA Triage Challenge Program Manager, Retired Col. Jeremy Pamplin, M.D., welcomes teams to the finals event at TEEX Disaster City in College Station, Texas. | Download Source: DARPA | Tom Shortridge
Team RoboScout adjusts its uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the practice course in front of the Disaster City sign. | Download Source: DARPA | Tom Shortridge
Team UAS-DTU traveled from India to compete in the DARPA Triage Challenge Finals. Here they are with their uncrewed ground vehicles ahead of a practice run. | Download Source: DARPA | Tom Shortridge
Team TTT prepares for a practice run at the DARPA Triage Challenge Finals. | Download Source: DARPA | Tom Shortridge

 

Workshop

March 2026

A volunteer role-player is successfully located by a competitor's autonomous ground robot at the DARPA Triage Challenge. These interactions are critical for evaluating the life-saving potential of next-generation search and rescue technology. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team RoboScout's system is put to the test at the DARPA Triage Challenge. The goal is to prove that autonomous platforms can effectively search for survivors in hazardous conditions, extending the reach of human first responders. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A view from the nerve center of the DARPA Triage Challenge. Operators and strategists are hard at work monitoring live feeds and guiding the mission. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
On the ground at the Triage Challenge, BTO Program Manager Dr. Jeremy Pamplin (left) and his team analyze mission-critical data as it comes in. This hands-on evaluation is key to pushing the boundaries of autonomous triage technology. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
On the ground at the DARPA Triage Challenge a first responder triages a role-player with mock injuries. This provides a critical benchmark for evaluating how well autonomous platforms can perform the same life-saving assessments. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Competitors launch a coordinated drone swarm to autonomously map the disaster area. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
The stage is set at TEEX Disaster City® for the DARPA Triage Challenge. There is no better place to test the limits of search and rescue technology than in this realistic, full-scale disaster simulation environment. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A look at advanced autonomous systems being prepped for the DARPA Triage Challenge. Pushing the boundaries of technology to solve critical challenges. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
At the DARPA Triage Challenge, teams deploy a mix of autonomous systems to tackle complex scenarios. Here, the robots work to identify and assess multiple simulated casualties around a vehicle wreck. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Behind the scenes at the DARPA Triage Challenge, where skilled moulage artists create hyper-realistic mock injuries. This level of detail is crucial for accurately testing the triage capabilities of autonomous systems. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A competitor at the DARPA Triage Challenge monitors the live feed as their autonomous system successfully identifies a simulated casualty. This is a critical test of the platform's sensing and reporting capabilities. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
The mission doesn't stop when the sun goes down. A look at nighttime operations at the DARPA Triage Challenge, where teams test the limits of their autonomous systems in realistic, low-light disaster scenarios. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team members work together to fine-tune their robot on the course. Success at the DARPA Triage Challenge requires not just sophisticated software, but quick, on-the-fly hardware problem-solving. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
The chaos of disaster response is captured in this nighttime scene from the DARPA Triage Challenge. A first responder works quickly in a low-light, high-stress environment to assess a simulated casualty, setting the performance bar for autonomous systems. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Under the red glow of tactical lighting, a responder performs triage on a simulated casualty. The intense scenarios of the DARPA Triage Challenge are designed to mirror the demanding reality of real-world disaster response. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A look at a nighttime mission, where both autonomous systems and human responders are hard at work. Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
A first responder provides care to a high-fidelity training mannequin located under a vehicle. This scenario from the DARPA Triage Challenge creates a crucial benchmark, testing how well autonomous systems can perform triage in similarly confined and dangerous spaces. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Beyond just seeing: A robot uses its manipulator arm to interact with a simulated survivor tucked away in a complex environment. The DARPA Triage Challenge evaluates the ability of autonomous systems to physically engage with their surroundings to perform life-saving tasks. Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks

 

 

Challenge Event 2 

DTC WS2 was held at Guardian Centers in Perry, Georgia, specifically designed for DARPA-funded teams participating in the Systems Competition of the DARPA Triage Challenge.

It provided a platform for teams to experiment with courses similar to those planned for Challenge event 2, rehearse their runs, and integrate with DARPA's instrumentation and scoring systems.

This video contains graphic depictions of simulated injuries. Viewer discretion is advised.
In this immersive overview of Challenge Event 2, guided by DARPA Triage Challenge Program Manager retired Army Col. Jeremy C. Pamplin, M.D., you'll experience how teams of innovators, engineers, and DARPA are redefining the future of combat casualty care. Check out competition runs, behind-the-scenes of what it takes to put on a DARPA Challenge, and glimpses into the future of lifesaving care.

Look all around! Use your mouse to look up, down - even behind you! Open the video in a full window for best viewing.

1:03Command center 2:15Casualty actors prep 3:40Night competition 5:20Actors prep on the field


 

In the Field
 

Systems Challenge
September 2025 | Perry, Georgia

Team prepares UGV for run on the night ambush course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Inside the C-130 course: DARPA Triage Challenge Event 2 in action. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medic and UGVs identify and assess casualties during human-machine teaming run at DARPA Triage Challenge Event 2. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medic teams work with unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to assess casualties during Event 2 of the DARPA Triage Challenge. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medic teams with UGVs to assess casualties on the DARPA Triage Challenge C-130 course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medic cares for medical mannikin with simulated injuries on the ambush course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medic teams with UGVs to assess casualties on the DARPA Triage Challenge C-130 course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team member reviews data during DARPA Triage Challenge Night Ambush run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
DARPA Triage Challenge program manager, Jeremy Pamplin, reviews data following a run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
UGV assesses injuries of actors and medical mannikins on the DARPA Triage Challenge C-130 course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
UGV assesses injuries on the DARPA Triage Challenge C-130 course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
DARPA Triage Challenge program manager, Jeremy Pamplin, speaks with teams ahead of a run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
UGV assesses injuries on the DARPA Triage Challenge C-130 course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Staff member oversees run on DARPA Triage Challenge C-130 course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Technician applies moulage to simulate medical injuries at DARPA Triage Challenge Event 2. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Overview of DARPA Triage Challenge Night Ambush course. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Team from Delhi Technological University finalizes preparations ahead of their DARPA Triage Challenge Event 2 run. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medic provides aid to actor with simulated injuries at DARPA Triage Challenge Event 2. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Medic cares for medical mannikin with simulated injuries at DARPA Triage Challenge Event 2. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Rocket attack course, awaiting the next performer team on March 2025 during Workshop 2 in Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks

Night Course
 

Workshop
March 2025 | Perry, Georgia

Uncrewed ground vehicle assesses injuries of simulated casualty, night course, DARPA Triage Challenge Workshop 2. Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Night course ready for performer teams, DARPA Triage Challenge Workshop 2. Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Blast off! An uncrewed aerial vehicle takes flight to quickly and accurately assess injuries. Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Uncrewed ground vehicles and teams prepare to take on the night course, DARPA Triage Challenge Workshop 2. Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks

 

 

Challenge Event 1
 

Event 1 focused on developing technologies to improve the speed and accuracy of medical triage in mass casualty situations. 

This first event included three main competitions: Systems, Virtual, and Data - all aiming to identify "signatures" of injury that can be detected by sensors and algorithms.


Competitions

September 2024 | Perry, Georgia

Challenge team member surveys data on the DARPA Triage Challenge Open Battle course, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Jahyra Catala
Uncrewed ground vehicles assess injuries of medical mannikins on the DARPA Triage Challenge ambush course, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Jahyra Catala
Competing team and DARPA staff look on as uncrewed ground vehicles prepares to assess injuries from simulated casualty. | Download Source: DARPA | Jahyra Catala
Uncrewed ground and aerial vehicles assess injuries of medical mannikins on the DARPA Triage Challenge ambush course, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Jahyra Catala
Performers collaborate near the team tents during the DARPA Triage Challenge Event 1, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Thomas Shortridge
Uncrewed ground vehicle assesses injuries of actors and medical mannikins on the DARPA Triage Challenge airplane crash course, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Thomas Shortridge
Uncrewed aerial vehicle assesses injuries of actors and medical mannikins on the DARPA Triage Challenge airplane crash course, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Jahyra Catala
UIS DTU team adjusts their technology ahead of participating in the DARPA Triage Challenge, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Performer team focuses on their instrumentation during the DARPA Triage Challenge Open Battle Course, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Spencer Bruttig
Multiple UGVs get ready to assess injuries on the DARPA Triage Challenge Open Battle Course, Guardian Centers, Perry, Ga. | Download Source: DARPA | Spencer Bruttig

Workshop 1 was a hands-on event for teams participating in the DTC Systems Competition. It served as a practice and rehearsal period before the main competition.

The workshop allowed teams to test their systems, integrate with the DARPA instrumentation and scoring systems, and refine their strategies on a representative course similar to the ones planned for the main challenge.

Workshop

June 2024 | Perry, Georgia

Three uncrewed ground vehicles take on the DARPA Triage Challenge during the Workshop 1 event in Perry, Ga., in June 2024. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
An uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) prepares to assess injuries from simulated casualty. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
An uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) takes flight during the DARPA Triage Challenge Workshop 1 event. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Four uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) takes flight during the DARPA Triage Challenge Workshop 1 event. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks
Protecting the warfighter: An uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) prepares to capture data from medical manikin. | Download Source: DARPA | Paul Flacks

The DARPA Triage Challenge highlights the crucial role of AI in addressing the challenges of mass casualty triage. For self-funded teams working in this space, collaboration is key. What's the most pressing issue your team is currently tackling in AI-driven triage solutions? Share your insights and let's foster a discussion on innovation. | More information on DVIDs
Source: DARPA

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