R&D REPOSITORY

The CURSOR proposal aims at developing new and innovative ways of detecting victims under debris. This includes the coordinated use of miniaturized robotic equipment and advanced sensors for achieving significant improvements in search and rescue operations with respect to (a) the time used to detect trapped victims after a building structure has collapsed, and (b) an informed and accelerated decision making by first responders during rescue operations allowing for the deployment of expert personnel and, in particular for operations in hazardous environments, suitable equipment at prioritized locations. CURSOR is proposing a system consisting of several integrated technological components. It includes Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for command & control, 3D modelling and transportation of disposable miniaturized robots, that are equipped with advanced sensors for the sensitive detection of volatile chemical signatures of human beings. Information and data collected are transferred in real time to a handheld device operated by first responders at the disaster site.

The main objective of DeeperSense is to significantly improve the environment perception capabilities of service robots and therefore improving their performance and reliability, achieving new functionality, and opening up new applications for robotics. DeeperSense adopts a novel approach of using Artificial Intelligence and data-driven Machine Learning / Deep Learning to combine the capabilities of non-visual and visual sensors with the objective to improve their joint capability of environment perception beyond the capabilities of the individual sensors. DeeperSense will focus on underwater robotics as a domain to demonstrate and verify this approach as it is considered one of the most challenging application areas for robot operation and environment perception. The project implements Deep Learning solutions for three use cases that were selected for their societal and environmental relevance and are driven by concrete end-user and market needs. During the project, comprehensive training data will be generated, where the developed algorithms will be trained upon and verified both in the lab and in extensive field trials. The trained algorithms will be optimized to run on the on-board hardware of underwater vehicles, thus enabling real-time execution in support of the autonomous robot behaviour. Both, the algorithms and the data will be made publicly available through online repositories embedded in European research infrastructures. The DeeperSense consortium consists of renowned experts in robotics and marine robotics, artificial intelligence, and underwater sensing. The research and technology partners are complemented by end-users from the three use case application areas. Among others, the dissemination strategy of DeeperSense has the objective to bridge the gap between the European robotics and AI communities and thus strengthen European science and technology.