January 23, 2019 | International, Land
In early April, nine qualified teams will attempt to remotely navigate the dark and dirty corridors of Edgar Experimental Mine in Idaho Springs, Colorado, in preparation for the Circuits Stage of the DARPA Subterranean (SubT) Challenge later this year. The SubT Integration Exercise, known as STIX, offers teams an opportunity to try out their technologies, including robotics, sensors, and communications solutions, in a representative environment. The locations for the Circuits Stage events have not been announced.
The Subterranean Challenge seeks to revolutionize how first responders and warfighters operate in human-made tunnel systems, urban underground settings, and natural cave networks that are too dangerous, dark, deep, and unknown to risk human lives. Teams are competing to develop breakthrough technologies that rapidly and remotely map, navigate, and search subterranean environments.
To qualify for STIX, teams were required to demonstrate baseline performance capabilities and appropriate safety measures. The participating teams and members are as follows:
CERBERUS: CollaborativE walking & flying RoBots for autonomous ExploRation in Underground Settings
CoSTAR: Collaborative SubTerranean Autonomous Resilient Robots
CRAS: Center for Robotics and Autonomous Systems
CRETISE: Collaborative Robot Exploration and Teaming In Subterranean Environments
CSIRO Data61
Explorer
MARBLE: Multi-agent Autonomy with Radar-Based Localization for Exploration
PLUTO: Pennsylvania Laboratory for Underground Tunnel Operations
Robotika.cz
The SubT Challenge comprises two competitions – the Systems Competition, where teams will develop novel hardware solutions to compete in physical underground environments, and the Virtual Competition, where teams will develop software-based solutions to test in simulated scenarios.
Teams will compete in three preliminary Circuit events and a Final event pursuing high-risk and high-reward approaches. The Final event, planned for 2021, will put teams to the test with courses that incorporate diverse challenges from all three environments. Teams in the Systems track will compete for up to $2 million in the Systems Final event, with up to $200,000 in additional prizes available for self-funded teams in each of the Systems Circuit events. Teams in the Virtual track will compete for up to $1.5 million in the Virtual Final event, with additional prizes of up to $500,000 for self-funded teams in each of the Virtual Circuit events.
Other teams interested in participating in the SubT Challenge may submit their qualification materials to be eligible for future events. The next qualification deadline is April 22, 2019, to establish eligibility for the Tunnel Circuit in August. Requirements can be found in the SubT Qualification Guide available on the Resources Page.
Interested teams are also encouraged to join the SubT Community Forum, where they can engage with other participants and ask any questions.
For additional information on the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, please visit www.subtchallenge.com.
Please email questions to SubTChallenge@darpa.mil.
February 22, 2021 | International, Naval
The Navy today awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding $3 billion for the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH). Stennis is next in line for this mid-life availability, which includes tearing the flight deck off, gutting the ship of most of its computer and combat systems, overhauling tanks and other …
November 28, 2023 | International, Land
Pratt & Whitney also expects to finish its preliminary design for the Engine Core Upgrade in December, and face the government's review in January.
September 14, 2023 | International, C4ISR
“If you think about trying to get data to fighters, to bombers, to weapons, to countermeasures, to all the things that we do, that’s a good number.”