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 at the site.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Navlab II, 1992
This automated HUMMER pioneered trinocular vision, WARP computing, and sensor fusion to navigate offroad terrain.
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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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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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BOA, 1994
An automated system that safely and economically removes asbestos insulation from old pipes. It packages waste into barrels for easy disposal. 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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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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Tesselator, 1994
Developed to inspect and waterproof the tiles underneath the space shuttle. Learn more...
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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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Autonomous Excavator, 1999
Designed to autonomously and efficiently dig and load trucks. 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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Meteorite Search, 2000
A winterized Nomad searched for and classified meteorites in Antarctica. Learn more...
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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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McArthur, 2001
Testbed for navigation in unstructured outdoor terrain.
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Skyworker, 2001
An assembly, inspection and maintenance robot for orbital structures. 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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Bullwinkle, 2003
Coordinated Mobile Manipulation for manufacturing and assembly.
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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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Guideway Inspection, 2003
Guideway inspection system in operation at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
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Hyperion, 2003
A robot for characterizing the limits of life in desert environments. Learn more...
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Robocrane, Bullwinkle, Xavier, 2003
Cooperative robots for autonomous assembly of structures. Learn more...
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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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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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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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SandStorm, 2004
High-performance off-road navigator for racing in the DARPA Grand Challenge in the California desert. Learn more...
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Zoë, 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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H1ghlander, 2005
H1ghlander competed in and finished 3rd in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. 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. Learn more...
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DEPTHX, 2006
The DEPTHX vehicle is a hovering AUV designed for exploration of flooded caverns and tunnels. Learn more...
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Boss, 2007
Boss won the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007. Learn more...
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Scarab, 2007
Scarab is prototype rover for lunar polar exploration. Its unique configuration allows it to adjust body posture for ascent and descent of craters and to position a coring drill for soil sampling. Learn more...
