It's no secret that the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) comes up with some of the coolest stuff.

The agency is largely credited with coming up with the Internet -- and, most recently, it kept the idea of self-driving cars alive until Google got interested.

Now, they're looking for a humanoid robot and are willing to shell out $2 million for it ... to pretty much anyone that can design a working model.

Last week, DARPA officially revealed the details for its "Robotics Challenge." The goal of the contest is the production of a robot that moves like a person and can be used to work in extremely dangerous disaster zones, like Japan's damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor, which would be hazardous for actual humans.

Like previous DARPA challenges, teams of researchers from various firms and academic departments have been selected to create prototypes, but this time they've also launched an online initiative allowing the public to enter as well. Either teams or individuals can submit their applications and use DARPA's online design simulation program to create their prototype models and/or software.

So, if you're a nerd with a dream, check it out!

At this point in the story we would usually make some joke about the government inviting the general public to participate in helping to create future robot overlords, but it's $2 million. So, we're just going to leave it at that.