GETbots - Rescue Robot Systems

Why Rescue Robots?

One of the most important tasks after a natural disaster is to search for survivors and bring them out of the danger zone. Mobile robots can assist rescue workers and help saving lives. Currently those robots are mainly teleoperated and a research focus is set on autonomous robots which can be used for urban search and rescue tasks. Since 2007 GET Lab is developing rescue robot systems. Goals are:

• Autonomous exploration of unknown environments
• Creation of environment maps
• Search for victims and assessing their health situation
• Detection of danger zones
• Denoting victim and danger zone positions in the created environment map

Competitions

GET Lab has been successfully participating in the RoboCup Rescue League Challenges. In 2016 the GETbots team became third winner as best European team in the RoboCup World Championship.

In 2002 the RoboCup Rescue league was established. Researchers can test and compare their rescue robots using a test arena designed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The picture shows an arena used at the RoboCup German Open. Different parts of the arena are marked using color: yellow for testing autonomous robots, orange for robots with advanced mobility and red for robots which can also climb stairs and steep ramps. Victims are simulated using heating blankets and dolls.