Corporation de l'École Polytechnique de Montréal

Published purpose

Human space exploration is dangerous at all levels. The overall goal of this project is to test and deploy the infrastructure needed for a swarm of robots to collaborate in the exploration and mapping of planetary environments such as surface, caves, or lava tubes. This would allow exploration on the Moon with a swarm of highly autonomous small-size robots, controlled by a single audio-visual interface. As part of the project, a software and hardware system will be integrated into a prototype to be tested using robots at analogue sites. This project will result in the validation of a self-organizing system composed of multiple entities for the exploration of an underground environment. This technology could also be used on Earth, as the robots could be used to aid in emergency response situations to provide connectivity and other capabilities in areas without a functioning communication infrastructure (e.g. earthquake hit zones).