NimbRo Rescue: Solving Disaster-Response Tasks through Mobile Manipulation Robot Momaro
This work addresses the need for robots to operate in dangerous disaster-response scenarios, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing robotics platforms and competition frameworks.
The paper tackles the problem of enabling robots to perform complex tasks in hazardous environments, such as search and rescue, by presenting the mobile manipulation robot Momaro, which successfully participated in the DARPA Robotics Challenge and other competitions, featuring a unique locomotion design and advanced teleoperation methods.
Robots that solve complex tasks in environments too dangerous for humans to enter are desperately needed, e.g. for search and rescue applications. We describe our mobile manipulation robot Momaro, with which we participated successfully in the DARPA Robotics Challenge. It features a unique locomotion design with four legs ending in steerable wheels, which allows it both to drive omnidirectionally and to step over obstacles or climb. Furthermore, we present advanced communication and teleoperation approaches, which include immersive 3D visualization, and 6D tracking of operator head and arm motions. The proposed system is evaluated in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, the DLR SpaceBot Cup Qualification and lab experiments. We also discuss the lessons learned from the competitions.