Gloom-dwelling subterranean robots battle for million-dollar DARPA prize Legendarily loopy US military (and now also non-military) ideas factory DARPA has launched a $1m competition for underground robots. This September, the SubT Challenge will pit eight teams against each other in a series of tests in the Louisville Mega Cavern, deep under the surface of the US state of Kentucky. Sadly, despite …
I remember the urban challenge. The big problem was getting insurance as these (non-simulated) vehicles roamed a city (with other vehicles) to accomplish objectives. They were given a map and a list of objectives shortly before the contest started (but, of course, the map had some errors and some of the roads were blocked).
Good practice for "AI".
"I remember the urban challenge."
The one at the disused military base? I covered that as a photojournalist. I think that area hasn't been mowed down yet. It would be a good place to create test courses for autonomous cars to be certified on rather than public streets.
A robot with wheels or any number of legs wouldn't get to 100 metres in the vast majority of real caves, or if it did it would be unable to return - maybe not a problem?
Can't say for caves in the Americas but the ones in Wales are far from level and unlike the ones on TV don't have suspiciously even floors. vertical pitches are very common and water in stream-ways or partially or fully flooded caverns is almost inevitable.
Must say a submersible drone that can fly above and below the water surface would be an impressive feat if anybody does it.
I suspect a slight difference in wing size due to the different fluid densities of water and air might cause a problem: I was idly watching a hydrofoil kitesurf board the other day and comparing its wing size - perhaps a tenth of a square meter - to my paraglider, thirty square meters or so. Both lifting the same mass.
A winged drone is a non-starter in a cave type environment, would never be able to maintain enough speed for lift.
It would have to be a somewhat ruggedised standard 4 rotor type thing, to go in water it "just" needs to be waterproof and have the rotors turn a lot slower and ideally have slightly positive buoyancy in fresh water.
Apart from all that it would need to be autonomous as remote C&C under water is non-trivial so all things considered I can't see anybody managing this any time soon.
A winged drone is a non-starter in a cave type environment
I may have been a bit hasty with that blanket assertion. I should have said "fixed wing".
Bats manage very well in caves - so some form of onithopter might (given suitable materials) do the non-aquatic bit of cave exploration quite well.
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