System for Multi-Robotic Exploration of Underground Environments CTU-CRAS-NORLAB in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge
Tomáš Rouček, Martin Pecka, Petr Čížek, Tomáš Pětříček, Jan Bayer, Vojtěch Šalanský, Teymur Azayev, Daniel Heřt, Matěj Petrlík, Tomáš Báča, Vojtěch Spurný, Vít Krátký, Pavel Petráček, Dominic Baril, Maxime Vaidis, Vladimír Kubelka, François Pomerleau, Jan Faigl, Karel Zimmermann, Martin Saska, Tomáš Svoboda, Tomáš Krajník
Abstract
We present a field report of the CTU-CRAS-NORLAB team from the Subterranean Challenge (SubT) organized by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The contest seeks to advance technologies that would improve the safety and efficiency of search-andrescue operations in GPS-denied environments. During the contest rounds, teams of mobile robots have to find specific objects while operating in environments with limited radio communication, e.g., mining tunnels, underground stations or natural caverns. We present a heterogeneous exploration robotic system of the CTU-CRAS-NORLAB team, which achieved the third rank at the SubT Tunnel and Urban Circuit rounds and surpassed the performance of all other non-DARPA-funded teams. The field report describes the team’s hardware, sensors, algorithms and strategies, and discusses the lessons learned by participating at the DARPA SubT contest.