Robots at the FRC
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Remote Reconaissance Vehicle, 1983:
First vehicle to enter the basement of Three Mile Island after a meltdown in March 1979. This vehicle worked four years to survey and clean up the flooded basement.
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CoreSampler, 1984:
This vehicle drilled core samples from the walls of the Three Mile Island basement to determine the depth and severity of radioactive material that soaked into the concrete.
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Terregator, 1984:
Terregator pioneered exploration, road following and mine mapping. It was the world's first rugged, capable, autonomous outdoor navigation robot. Learn More
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REX, 1985:
REX was the world's first autonomous digging machine. It sensed and planned to excavate without damaging buried gas pipes. This robot used a hypersonic air knife to erode soil around pipes.
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Remote Work Vehicle, 1986:
The Remote Work Vehicle was developed for a broad agenda of clean-up operations like washing contaminated surfaces, removing sediments, demolishing radiated structures, applying surface treatments, and packaging and transporting materials.
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NavLab I, 1986:
Pioneered high performance outdoor navigation. NavLab deployed racks of computers, laser scanners, and color cameras providing cutting-edge perception in its time.
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Pipe Mapping , 1988:
Mobile pipe mapping computes magnetic and radar data over a dense grid to infer the depth and location of buried pipes. This outperforms hand-held pipe detectors.
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Locomotion Emulator, 1988:
This chassis steers and propels all wheels so that it can spin, drive, or spin while driving. Its software can emulate a tank, car or any other wheeled machine.
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Ambler, 1990:
Ambler is a walking robot that enables energy-efficient overlapping gaits. Developed as a testbed for research in walking robots operating in rugged terrain. Learn more
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Neptune, 1992:
Neptune articulates magnetic tracks to roam the interiors of fuel storage tanks. It evaluates deterioration in floors and walls using acoustic navigation and corrosion sensing. Learn more
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Dante I, 1992:
Dante rappels mountainsides using a spherical laser scanner and foot sensors. It entered the crater of Antarctica's Mt. Erebus but did not reach the lava lake. Learn more
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Dante II, 1994:
A tethered walking robot for science missions in active volcanoes, explored the Mt. Spurr volcano in Alaska. It was used to sample high-temperature, gas samples from the fumaroles on the crater floor. Learn more
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Navlab II, 1992:
This automated HUMMER pioneered trinocular vision, WARP computing, and sensor fusion to navigate offroad terrain.
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Demeter, 1993:
Demeter autonomously mows hay and alphalpa. It navigates with GPS and uses camera vision to differentiate cut and uncut crops. Learn more
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Houdini, 1993:
Houdini cleans up hazardous materials from waste filled tanks. It transforms itself to a small, streamlined shape for entering a tank, then expands to a large, stable shape for heavy work. Learn more
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Tesselator, 1994:
Developed to inspect and waterproof the tiles underneath the space shuttle . Learn more
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BOA, 1994:
An automated system that safely and economially removes asbestos insulation from old pipes. It packages waste into barrels for easy disposal. Learn more
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T3, 1994:
This autonomous excavator was the first to use a bucket for robotic digging. It can sense how much dirt it is moving and how to dig around buried rocks.
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Nomad, 1997:
Robot for autonomous exploration of planet-like deserts. It pioneered spherical vision and long-range navigation. Shown here in the Chilean Atacama desert. Learn more
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Pioneer,1999:
Radiation-hardened remote reconnaissance system for structural analysis of Reactor 4 at Chornobyl. Learn more
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Autonomous Excavator, 1999:
Designed to autonomously and efficiently dig and load trucks. Learn more
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Meteorite Search, 2000:
A winterized Nomad searched for and classified meteorites in Antarctica. Learn more
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Skyworker, 2001:
An assembly, inspection and maintenance robot for orbital structures. Learn more
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McArthur, 2001:
Testbed for navigation in unstructured outdoor terrain.
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Hyperion, 2001:
A solar powered rover that proved the concept of Sun-Synchronous navigation in the Canadian high Arctic. Learn more
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Enviroblimp, 2002:
Developed to investigate the use of a solar-powered dirigible for collection of environmental data. Learn more
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Robocrane, Bullwinkle, Xavier, 2003:
Cooperative robots for autonomous assembly of structures.Learn more
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Hyperion, 2003:
A robot for characterizing the limits of life in desert environments. Learn more
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Guideway Inspection, 2003:
Guideway inspection system in operation at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
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Groundhog, 2003:
Robot for subterranean mapping and exploration. This robot mapped several deep mines in the wake of an accident at the Quecreek mine that left 9 miners trapped. Learn more
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Bullwinkle, 2003:
Coordinated Mobile Manipulation for manufacturing and assembly.
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Yogi, 2003:
Yogi is an automated golf cart that serves as a testbed for autonomous navigation. Learn more
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Blackbear, 2004:
Robotic Mule for the Army. Learn more
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SandStorm, 2004:
High-performance off-road navigator for racing in the DARPA Grand Challenge in the California desert. Learn more
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Ferret, 2004:
The Ferret mine mapping robot can be lowered down a borehole and produce three-dimensional maps using sonar and laser range finders that can then be used to assess mine conditions.Learn more
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Cave Crawler, 2004:
Cave Crawler is smaller, lighter, faster, and more mobile than its Groundhog predecessor. In addition, it is equipped with two integrated sensor modules (developed by the Subterranean Robotics group) that perform SLAM in addition to sensory output. Learn more
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Zoe, 2004:
Equipped with specialized sensors, Zoe roams the Atacama desert in search of life. Just like its predecessor Hyperion, Zoe has an array of solar cells to collect energy from the sun and plan its day to maximize science returns while maintaining battery levels. Learn more
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Terrascout, 2005:
TerraScout is developing fundamental technology for autonomous outdoor vehicles to navigate outdoors. These scouts assist their human counterparts by providing eyes and ears in dangerous locations, by automatically patrolling desired paths, detecting and avoiding obstacles, and providing operators with live video and audio feeds. Learn more
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H1ghlander, 2005:
H1ghlander is the Red Team's new contender for the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge in the California desert. H1ghlander has technologies such as telescopic stereo to sense distant terrain, software to point sensors along an intended route, sensor fusion to combine various sensor data into a common model, race logic to game the competition, and automated swerving to maneuver at high speed. Learn more
