System for multi-robotic exploration of underground environments CTU-CRAS-NORLAB in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge

TL;DR

This paper reports on the CTU-CRAS-NORLAB team's multi-robot exploration system for underground environments, highlighting their hardware, algorithms, and strategies that led to a third-place finish in DARPA's SubT Challenge.

Contribution

It introduces a heterogeneous robotic exploration system specifically designed for GPS-denied underground environments, demonstrating superior performance in DARPA's SubT Challenge.

Findings

Achieved third place in SubT Tunnel and Urban Circuit rounds.

Surpassed all non-DARPA-funded teams in performance.

Provided insights and lessons learned from real-world underground exploration.

Abstract

We present a field report of CTU-CRAS-NORLAB team from the Subterranean Challenge (SubT) organised by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The contest seeks to advance technologies that would improve the safety and efficiency of search-and-rescue 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.