The robots in the Subterranean Challenge came in all shapes and sizes
DARPA
An international team with representatives from Switzerland and with participation of Armasuisse, the federal office for defence procurement, has won the three-year Subterranean Challenge robotics competition.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/ts
Русский
ru
Швейцарцы победили в американском конкурсе робототехники
The contest is funded by DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), part of the US Department of Defense.
The winning team, called CERBERUS, competed successfully against seven international teams from the robotics elite in the final in the US, Armasuisse said in a statementExternal link.
The team consisted of robotics researchers from Switzerland (federal technology institute ETH Zurich, Flyability SA), the US, UK and Norway.
In order to prepare as well as possible for the Subterranean ChallengeExternal link, the Swiss Drone and Robotics Centre from Armasuisse Science and TechnologyExternal link provided above-ground and underground facilities together with the Engineering/Rescue/ABC training unit of the Swiss Armed Forces. CERBERUS were able to test various different robots under realistic conditions in the facilities.
Four-legged walking robots
The robotics competition started in 2019 and reached its climax at the final in September 2021. The task set by the challenge was to explore the surrounding area as fast as possible with any number of robots and precisely locate items such as fire extinguishers, first aid equipment and dummies (to simulate human survivors).
Small aircraft and ground vehicles were used to tackle the tasks. In addition to more conventional wheeled and tracked vehicles, four-legged walking robots also played a key role. The winner of the challenge relied heavily on four-legged robots. Four Swiss ANYmal walking robots were deployed in the competition, one of them from the defence ministry.
DARPA conducted the competition to promote novel approaches to rapid mapping, navigation and search in underground environments. The challenge is one of the most demanding robotics competitions in the world.
More
More
Switzerland gears up to place robots in classrooms
This content was published on
Covid-19 has accelerated the transition to online teaching, raising questions about the role of robots in classrooms.
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
This content was published on
Swiss imports and exports reached new heights in the first quarter, driven by the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. Shipments to the US rose sharply.
Italian in Switzerland accused of being Calabrian mafia henchman
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has charged an Italian resident of the Anello-Fruci 'Ndrangheta clan in the canton of Aargau.
Swiss CFOs have a pessimistic outlook due to trade wars
This content was published on
In the wake of the trade wars launched by US President Donald Trump, Swiss companies are assessing the future much more pessimistically.
Swiss parcel bomber had links to military and intelligence services
This content was published on
The 61-year-old man who admitted to being Patek Philippe's blackmailer in Geneva had connections in the police and the army.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.