The next scenario: Train accident

This year, NIFTi develops its systems further, in the context of a train accident use case. This use case extends the tunnel accident by providing a larger area, with more complex (3D) obstacles and structures to traverse, and a possibility to deploy a human acting as in-field observer to provide feedback to the remote command-post "from the ground."  

In October we performed initial experiments in a setup at the FDDO training grounds in Dortmund (Germany). The setup involved a railway car, several crashed cars, a bus, as well as different 3D structures such as a ramp, rails, a container acting as an office, and sloping terrain. 

The overall human-robot team will consist of a UGV and a UAV to explore the site, together with an in-field observer on-site (but not as close to the scene as the robots i.e. outside the immediate hotzone), and a remote command post with a UGV operator, mission specialists, and a mission commander.