The Robotics Institute

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute

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Abstract

Unknown, unexplored and abandoned subterranean voids threaten mining operations, surface developments and the environment. Hazards within these spaces preclude human access to create and verify extensive maps or to characterize and analyze the environment. To that end, we have developed a mobile robot capable of autonomously exploring and mapping abandoned mines. To operate without communications in a harsh environment with little chance of rescue, this robot must have a robust electro-mechanical platform, a reliable software system, and a dependable means of failure recovery. Presented are the mechanisms, algorithms, and analysis tools that enable autonomous mine exploration and mapping along with extensive experimental results from eight successful deployments into the abandoned Mathies coal mine near Pittsburgh, PA.

Notes

Associated Project(s): 3D Mine Mapping

Number of pages: 6

Text Reference

Christopher R. Baker , Aaron Christopher Morris, David Ferguson, Scott Thayer, Chuck Whittaker, Zachary Omohundro, Carlos Reverte, William (Red) L. Whittaker, Dirk Haehnel, and Sebastian Thrun, "A Campaign in Autonomous Mine Mapping," Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), April, 2004, pp. 2004 - 2009.

BibTeX Reference

@inproceedings{Baker__2004_4627,
   author = "Christopher R. {Baker } and Aaron Christopher Morris and David Ferguson and Scott Thayer and Chuck Whittaker and Zachary Omohundro and Carlos Reverte and William (Red) L. Whittaker and Dirk Haehnel and Sebastian Thrun",
   title = "A Campaign in Autonomous Mine Mapping",
   booktitle = "Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)",
   pages = "2004 - 2009",
   month = "April",
   year = "2004",
   volume = "2",
}

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