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JRM Vol.36 No.3 pp. 568-579
doi: 10.20965/jrm.2024.p0568
(2024)

Paper:

Exploration of Space Under Debris Using Primitive Mobility Algorithms

Nelson Andrés Sánchez Otálora ORCID Icon and Naoki Wakamiya ORCID Icon

Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University
1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan

Received:
November 23, 2023
Accepted:
February 29, 2024
Published:
June 20, 2024
Keywords:
exploration, mobile robots, search and rescue activities
Abstract

In search and rescue operations, the primary, urgent, and critical task is to locate people trapped under debris in collapsed buildings. Mobile robots are expected to facilitate the acquisition of information about a disaster site and the detection of victims. In this paper, we investigate the strategy for exploring the space under debris using multiple mobile robots. To establish a baseline, we first evaluate the performance of simple and primitive mobility algorithms, such as random walk and depth-first search, across various scenarios with different debris densities. We then consider combinations of these primitive algorithms, which allow mobile robots to adapt to the local surrounding conditions. Through simulation evaluation, we find that a stochastic algorithm contributes to fast exploration by multiple mobile robots, regardless of debris density, while a deterministic algorithm is effective when used by a single agent.

Cell map generated by agent in simulation

Cell map generated by agent in simulation

Cite this article as:
N. Otálora and N. Wakamiya, “Exploration of Space Under Debris Using Primitive Mobility Algorithms,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.36 No.3, pp. 568-579, 2024.
Data files:
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