Quest For Robotic Autonomy in Extreme Terrains and Conditions: Team CoSTAR at Subterranean Challenge

Talk Abstract: Is there life beyond Earth? The answer to this question leads us to voyage underground. Not only are planetary caves and subsurface voids some of the most likely places for life to be harbored and found, but they can also serve as potential habitats for human settlement. Targeting planetary cave exploration and keeping JPL’s national leadership in extreme environment autonomy, JPL is participating in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. This is the latest in the series of DARPA challenges, one the nation’s most prestigious competitions for the cutting-edge robotic technology development. JPL-led Team CoSTAR has developed an autonomy and AI framework for extreme environment exploration, called NeBula. This framework has been integrated on a variety of robots, including rovers, drones, and legged robots. NeBula successfully completed the mission in the first phase of the Challenge, leading to a second place finish worldwide.