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 reforming the Swiss pension system still possible, and if so, how?
Solutions still need to be found to meet the challenge of an ageing population and to improve the pensions of low-paid workers, the majority of whom are women.
New European space tech centre in Switzerland launches its first project
This content was published on
The European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI), launched in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), is to be located in the immediate vicinity of the PSI in northern Switzerland.
Swiss Federal Railways launches campaign for safety on public transport
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Railways is launching a campaign for greater respect and safety on public transport, with posters to go up in stations and on trains starting next week.
Swiss scientists to use AI for improved weather and climate forecasts
This content was published on
MeteoSwiss and the Swiss Data Science Center have signed a four-year agreement to make greater use of AI in meteorology and climatology going forward.
This content was published on
Prices of owner-occupied homes rose in the third quarter of 2024 by 0.5%, with inflation affecting both apartments and single-family houses, says the Federal Statistical Office.
This content was published on
The honey harvest is projected to be lower than usual this year, as Swiss beekeepers report harvesting an average of just 16kg of honey per bee colony.
More young refugees in Switzerland following vocational training
This content was published on
More than half of young refugees and temporarily admitted persons between the ages of 16 and 25 are now in training. This is significantly more than five years ago.
One in five Swiss children suffers psychological abuse at home
This content was published on
In Switzerland, one in five children suffers psychological violence, and one in three has witnessed psychological violence between parents, says the association Kinderschutz Schweiz.
Swiss government minister breaks silence over Trump remarks controversy
This content was published on
Transport Minister Albert Rösti explained himself in a television interview on Sunday evening, after being called out for expressing support for Donald Trump.
Swiss Covid expert calls for caution on vaccination recommendations
This content was published on
The head of the vaccination commission would be “even more cautious today” when it comes to Covid-19 vaccination recommendations.
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.