Mine tunnel exploration using multiple quadrupedal robots

ID Miller, F Cladera, A Cowley… - IEEE Robotics and …, 2020 - ieeexplore.ieee.org
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2020ieeexplore.ieee.org
Robotic exploration of underground environments is a particularly challenging problem due
to communication, endurance, and traversability constraints which necessitate high degrees
of autonomy and agility. These challenges are further exacerbated by the need to minimize
human intervention for practical applications. While legged robots have the ability to traverse
extremely challenging terrain, they also engender new challenges for planning, estimation,
and control. In this work, we describe a fully autonomous system for multi-robot mine …
Robotic exploration of underground environments is a particularly challenging problem due to communication, endurance, and traversability constraints which necessitate high degrees of autonomy and agility. These challenges are further exacerbated by the need to minimize human intervention for practical applications. While legged robots have the ability to traverse extremely challenging terrain, they also engender new challenges for planning, estimation, and control. In this work, we describe a fully autonomous system for multi-robot mine exploration and mapping using legged quadrupeds, as well as a distributed database mesh networking system for reporting data. In addition, we show results from DARPA Subterranean Challenge (SubT) Tunnel Circuit demonstrating localization of artifacts after traversals of hundreds of meters. These experiments describe fully autonomous exploration of an unknown Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied environment undertaken by legged robots.
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