We are developing low cost airboats: flat-bottomed boats that use an above-water fan to propel themselves forward safely and effectively through shallow or debris-filled water.
Ambler was a walking robot that enabled energy-efficient overlapping gaits. Developed as a testbed for research in walking robots operating in rugged terrain.
Boatbot is a test platform for developing control algorithms for open water environments. Boatbot is divided with three bulkheads, one of which is for science payloads.
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.
Core Drilling was automated to retrieve radiated concrete samples after a nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. Technical challenges included reaction, compliance, drilling, breakout, capture and isolation from washdown procedures.
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.
Daedelus’ legs remained vertical to keep this unique walker configuration from bumping its shins. This feature reduced gait planning from 3D to 2D. Its lengthy stroke maximized clearance and achieved remarkable mobility.
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...
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.
The DARPA Subterranean or “SubT” Challenge robots that demonstrate novel approaches to rapidly map, navigate, and search underground environments during time-sensitive combat operations or disaster response scenarios.
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.
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.
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.
Icebreaker is designed to traverse into dark steep lunar craters. Icebreaker features a novel plow device that allows it to maintain control and minimize slip while descending steep unconsolidated angle of repose slopes.
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.
The moon lander is a robot capable of landing a payload rover onto the lunar surface. The lander uses sensors, rockets, and mapping software for precision landings.
The shape of this moon rover moderates extreme lunar temperatures while gathering sunpower and rejecting heat. The simplicity achieves mobility and reliability with a minimum of moving parts.
Pioneered high performance outdoor navigation. NavLab deployed racks of computers, laser scanners, and color cameras providing cutting-edge perception in its time.
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...
Robot for autonomous exploration of planet-like deserts. It pioneered spherical vision and long-range navigation. Shown here in the Chilean Atacama desert.
This autonomous orchard vehicle can mow and spray entire orchard blocks without any human supervision. It can also assist workers in tasks such as thinning fruit, pruning, and harvesting.
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.
Polaris prospects for water at the lunar poles. Polaris is capable of driving and avoiding obstacles autonomously including traverses into dark regions in the lunar poleâs long shadows.
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.
ReefBot is a Pittsburgh-based team of individuals committed to developing and using underwater robotic technology for the purpose of ocean exploration, education, and coral reef conservation.
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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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.
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.
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.
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.
The Robotanist is designed to navigate beneath the canopy of row crops such as sorghum or corn while carrying a plant manipulator and an array of non-contact sensors. The vast quantity of data collected is used to help plant breeders and geneticists map phenotypes to genetic markers, which in turn will substantially improve the rate of genetic gain.
Trestle develops multi-agent coordination for teams of humans and robots performing complex assembly tasks such as intended for structures in earth-orbit.
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.
