RAPID: Aerial Robots for Remote Autonomous Exploration and Mapping

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal #: CNS 11-38110 PI(s): Kumar, R. Vijay; Michael, Nathan D Institution: University of Pennsylvania Title: RAPID: Aerial Robots for Rapid Response: Remote Autonomous Exploration and Mapping Project Proposed: This RAPID project, developing and deploying a team of autonomous aerial robots that can enter an unstructured, hazardous environment to explore and map a facility, provides information to human operators in safe, remote locations. The work brings together research groups with complementary expertise in robotics to address the challenging problem of acquiring imagery and three-dimensional maps for post-disaster assessment. Autonomous robots will be deployed without a direct communication link enabling access to areas in the Fukushima that are currently inaccessible. Addressing an urgent need, the work consists of redesigning aerial robotic systems to perform mapping, localization, and exploration functions in indoor and outdoor environments without prior knowledge of the environment or GPS (Global Positioning System). The system, to be deployed in highly contaminated environments such as the area of Fukushima disasters in Japan, expands the present robotic systems developed by the team. It should be able to build maps and localize, plan, and control autonomously in that map, but requires interactions with a base-station to communicate the relevant information. The paradigm shifting capabilities of aerial robots to act independently and be deployed in critical contaminated areas exhibit novelty. The Japanese-American academic research team will be engaged in some of the following activities: - Develop methods to acquire information from highly contaminated environments, such as in case of radiation contamination. - Engineer and deploy one or more autonomous robots (i.e., without the link to the base station) equipped with cameras and laser range finders as well as potentially carrying sensors that might reveal new insights about the degree of contamination. - Develop algorithms and methods for information gathering and map building. - Deploy the robots in Japan through Japanese colleagues. Most UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are teleoperated with several human operators engaged in the deployment of each UAV. The cross fertilization of technologies for robotics and UAVs has potential to create new small to medium scale autonomous UAVs with a wide range of civilian and defense applications. This project will explore the use of autonomous UAVs for acquiring information from environments that are impossible to access because of radiation contamination. One or more autonomous quad rotor robots equipped with cameras and laser range finders will be deployed to explore the partially-known environment and build 3-D maps of the structure and potentially carrying sensors that might reveal new insights about the degree of contamination. These robots will have to operate without any communication link to the base station. Thus this will represent the first deployment of a truly autonomous robot of its kind. This work involves a collaboration with Dr. Satoshi Tadokoro, a researcher in search and rescue robotics, from Tohuku University in Sendai, Japan. A support letter has been submitted by Dr. Tadokoro for the proposed joint research. Another collaborator from the same University, Dr. Kazuya Yoshida, leads the project entitled ?Robotics in Extreme Environment? and brings the ?Extreme Robotics? background to this collaborative research endeavor. The project, expected to lose robots in extreme environment tests, consequently requires building additional autonomous aerial robots for the purpose of the experiments. Funding is also requested to travel to Japan for collaborative research and experimentation. Broader Impacts: The tragic sequence of events in Sendai and the Fukushima I and II nuclear power plants has resulted in significant contamination due to radioactive iodine, cesium and stronium, making it nearly impossible for humans to enter many areas in the power plants to assess damage. First, the use of robots to acquire information from currently inaccessible areas will have a significant impact on post-disaster recovery operations. Second, the use of autonomous aerial robots will establish an important milestone in robotics and will allow the nuclear power industry to be better positioned to rapidly respond to disasters in the future. This proposal promises an immediate benefit to society by supporting economic recovery efforts in Japan through a participatory research paradigm. Moreover, long term benefits for future disasters are in evidence since emergency response and unmanned systems are both formative domains and the data collected will advance the discovery and understanding of intelligent, human-centered systems in unpredictable situations. Furthermore, the use of autonomous aerial robots will establish an important milestone in robotics allowing the nuclear power industry to be better positioned to rapidly respond to disasters in the future. Finally, the project will train undergraduate and graduate students and expose them to high-impact application areas.