Pentagon Issues ‘Subterranean Robot Challenge’

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) kicked off the Subterranean (SubT) Challenge final this week, with participants deploying autonomous systems to navigate underground obstacles.

The culmination of the three-year challenge consisting of virtual and physical trials including tunnel, urban, and cave circuits takes place from September 21-23 at the Louisville Mega Cavern in Louisville, Kentucky.

The event has ten finalists competing in a mix of virtual and physical formats for all three circuits, employing software solutions for the simulation-based competitions and robots for the physical ones.