Team SCHAFT finished in first place at the DARPA Robotics Challenge 2013.

At the DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials 2013, 16 teams competed in eight tasks for a chance to advance to the finals, where they would have a chance to win a $2 million grand prize. Team SCHAFT and its bipedal robot won the trials handily, earning 27 points, while NASA's Valkyrie robot failed to score any points in the trial.

For the trials, 17 teams were scheduled to compete, but Team Intelligent Pioneer, from China, canceled a few days before the event. The 16 teams were selected through four different tracks: Track A teams received funding by DARPA to develop hardware and software; Track B teams received funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop software and were given an ATLAS robot; Track C teams were independently funded but later received DARPA funding for software development and used an ATLAS robot; Track D teams did not receive any funding from DARPA and developed hardware and software.

The DARPA Robotics Challenge was held at the Homestead Miami Speedway, located in Florida, and the track was transformed to a disaster area. According to DARPA, the main goal of the DRC is to develop robots that can work in dangerous environments; the tasks simulate potential situations and challenges that would be encountered during a disaster. The robots compete in such tasks as attaching and turning on a hose, shutting off valves, cleaning up debris, drilling through walls and climbing a ladder. A total of 32 points could be earned, 3 points for completing the primary objectives in each task and a bonus point for completing the entire task without human intervention.

Team SCHAFT competed with a bipedal robot that was based on its HRP-2 robot and earned 27 points over the weekend. The SCHAFT robot earned "best in task" in four tasks: terrain, ladder, debris and hose, reportsGizmodo.