Creation of robot for subsurface void detection

Wilson, Stacy; Gurung, Laxmi; Paaso, Esa Aleksi; Wallace, Jack E.

doi:10.1109/ths.2009.5168102

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Since disaster rubble is often comprised of irregular shapes and materials, as opposed to level terrain, this approach is not appropriate for USAR. Work has been carried out using autonomous vehicles equipped with GPRs for detecting subsurface voids in mining operations (Wilson et al, 2009); however, this approach requires Figure 2.3: An example of a Matilda ground robot utilizing tracks for locomotion (Munkeby et al, 2002). heavy equipment, level terrain and a mobile platform traversing the area of inspection.…”

Section: Ground-based Roboticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovering access holes in disaster rubble with functional and photometric attributes

Kong¹

2021

Preprint

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The collapse of buildings often result in human victims becoming trapped within rubble. This environment is dangerous for emergency first responders tasked with locating and extricating victims. Recent work in scene mapping using photometric colour and metric depth (RGB-D) data suggest the possibility of automatically identifying potential access holes into rubble interior. This capability would improve search operation by directing limited resources to be concentrated on areas where access holes might exist. This thesis presents an approach to automatically identify access holes in rubble. The investigation begins by defining access holes in terms of their functional utility, that allow for their algorithmic identification. From this definition, a set of hole-related features extracted from RGB-D imagery are proposed for detection. Experiments were conducted using data collected over a real-world disaster training facility. Empirical evaluation indicates the efficacy of the proposed system for successfully identifying potential access holes in disaster rubble scenes.

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Section: Ground-based Roboticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovering access holes in disaster rubble with functional and photometric attributes

Kong¹

2021

Preprint

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“…The operation of remote ground robots inside mines has aided in the detection of underground voids [29]; remote operation allows operators to stay within a safe environment while inspecting for underground spaces in mines. Similar approaches have been applied to USAR; navigation systems allowing ground robots to traverse difficult terrain within the USAR domain have been developed [30], However, USAR rubble zones typically consist of chaotic terrain, limiting the extent to which ground robots are able to operate [31].…”

Section: Ground-based Roboticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancements toward autonomous access hole detection for urban search and rescue

Waismark¹

2021

Preprint

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The collapse of buildings creates voids underneath rubble, where victims may be trapped. First responder crews arriving at a collapse scene are responsible for the location of access holes, among other tasks. Access holes are entry points through which rubble voids may be reached by search and rescue personnel. Previously presented work aimed to autonomously locate such holes, aiding concentration of resources to areas of interest, such as those leading into rubble. The work proposed improves upon existing work by increasing accuracy while reducing total number of detections. A new process is introduced for segmentation of colour and depth images, significantly improving the hole finding system’s accuracy. The ability to score holes based on multiple frames, considering various points of view is introduced. As an added benefit, matching holes across frames allows the algorithm to report holes once per group of matches, rather than once per frame.

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“…Since disaster rubble is often comprised of irregular shapes and materials, as opposed to level terrain, this approach is not directly appropriate for USAR. Work has been carried out using autonomous vehicles for detecting subsurface voids in mining operations (Wilson, Gurung, Paaso, & Wallace, ); however, this approach requires heavy equipment, level terrain, and a mobile platform traversing the area of inspection. USAR terrain is inevitably cluttered and chaotic, making effective ground locomotion problematic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is a Hole? Discovering Access Holes in Disaster Rubble with Functional and Photometric Attributes

Kong

Ferworn

Coleshill

et al. 2015

Journal of Field Robotics

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The collapse of buildings and other structures in heavily populated areas often results in human victims becoming trapped within the resulting rubble. This rubble is often unstable, difficult to traverse, and dangerous for emergency first responders tasked with finding, stabilizing, and extricating entombed or hidden victims through access holes in the rubble. Recent work in scene mapping and reconstruction using photometric color and metric depth (RGB-D) data collected by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) suggests the possibility of automatically identifying potential access holes into the interior of rubble. This capability would greatly improve search operations by directing the limited human search capacity to areas where access holes might exist. This paper presents a novel approach to automatically identifying access holes in rubble. The investigation begins by defining an access hole in terms that allow for their algorithmic identification as a potential means of accessing the interior of rubble. This definition captures the functional and photometric attributes of holes. From this definition, a set of hole-related features for detection is presented. Experiments were conducted using RGB-D data collected over a real-world disaster training facility using a UAV. Empirical evaluation suggests the efficacy of the proposed approach for successfully identifying potential access holes in disaster rubble. C 2015Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Creation of robot for subsurface void detection

Cited by 4 publications

References 1 publication

Discovering access holes in disaster rubble with functional and photometric attributes

Discovering access holes in disaster rubble with functional and photometric attributes

Advancements toward autonomous access hole detection for urban search and rescue

What is a Hole? Discovering Access Holes in Disaster Rubble with Functional and Photometric Attributes

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