UGV-CBRN: An Unmanned Ground Vehicle for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Disaster Response

TL;DR

This paper presents an integrated robotic system designed for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear disaster response, combining autonomous mapping, substance sampling, and remote human operation to enhance safety and efficiency.

Contribution

The system uniquely combines autonomous radiation mapping with semi-autonomous substance sampling and online analysis, advancing robotic capabilities in CBRN disaster scenarios.

Findings

Successful field tests at the European Robotics Hackathon.

Effective remote monitoring and manipulation by human operators.

System demonstrated reliable detection and localization of CBRN threats.

Abstract

Robotic search and rescue (SAR) supports response teams by accelerating disaster assessment and by keeping operators away from hazardous environments. In the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) disaster, robots are deployed to identify and locate radiation sources. Human responders then assess the situation and neutralize the danger. The presented system takes a step toward enhanced integration of robots into SAR teams. Integrating autonomous radiation mapping with semi-autonomous substance sampling and online analysis of the CBRN threat lets the human operator localize and assess the threat from a safe distance. Two LiDARs, an IMU, and a Geiger counter are used for mapping the surrounding area and localizing potential radiation sources. A mobile manipulator with six Degrees of Freedom manipulates valves and samples substances that are analyzed by an onboard Raman spectrometer. The human operator monitors the mission's progression from a remote location defining target locations and directing the semi-autonomous manipulation processes. Diverse recovery behaviours aid robot deployment, system state monitoring, as well as recovery of hard- and software. Field tests showcase the capabilities of the presented system during trials at the CBRN disaster response challenge European Robotics Hackathon (EnRicH). We provide recorded sensor data and implemented software through a GitHub repository: https://github.com/TW-Robotics/search-and-rescue-robot-2024.