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****************** ROBOTICS INSTITUTE SEMINAR SERIES ******************

Robotic Mapping of Extreme Environments

Scott Thayer
Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon Unversity

Adamson Wing, Baker Hall
Talk 3:30 pm
Refreshments 3:15 pm

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.


Speaker Biography

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's research centers on the design,
validation, and deployment of robot-based 3-D sensing and perception
systems for work in unforgiving environments.


Speaker Appointments

For appointments, please contact the speaker, Scott Thayer at
sthayer@ri.cmu.edu.

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