🚀 go-pugleaf

Dates:    7-Apr-2000
Time:     3:15 PM
Cboards:  general
Place:    Adamson Wing, Baker Hall
Type:     RI Seminar	
Duration: 105 min.
Who:      Scott Thayer
Topic:    Robotic Mapping of Extreme Environments
Host:     Jeff Schneider

			ABSTRACT
In war fighting and nuclear accident response, the cost of human
exposure is levied in terms of injury and death. Robotic alternatives
must address effective operations while removing humans from danger.
This is profoundly challenging, as extreme environments inflict
cumulative performance damage on exposed robotic agents. Sensing and
perception are among the most vulnerable components. Presented are three
generations of mapping technology that actualize perception in these
harsh environments:

C-Map is a stereo-based 3-D mapping capability for documenting the
interior of Chernobyl's destroyed Unit 4 reactor. C-Map is unique in its
ability to automatically acquire and integrate photo-realistic 3-D maps
in radiation fields of up to 3500 RAD/hour.

Artisan is a scanner-independent mapping and object recognition toolkit
for industrial facilities. Building upon the technical lessons of C-Map,
Artisan was constructed as a portal to the supervised decommissioning of
obsolete nuclear facilities.

Meta-Map enables autonomous reconnaissance in urban structures using
teams of robots (robot colonies). Mapping teams will scout remote sites,
maintain quick operational tempos, and successfully execute tasks
despite expected agent failures. An overview of the ideas and promising
initial results from this research will be presented.

BIO:

Scott M. Thayer is a Staff Scientist in the Robotics Institute. He
earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of
Tennessee in 1998.  Dr. Thayer=92s research centers on the design,
validation, and deployment of robot-based 3-D sensing and perception
systems for work in unforgiving environments.

FurtherDetails: for appointments contact sthayer@ri.cmu.edu