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A) DARPA’s Subterranean (SubT) Challenge seeks to better equip warfighters and first responders to explore uncharted underground environments that are too dangerous, dark, or deep to risk human lives. Three Circuit Events have led to this Final Event at the Louisville Mega Cavern September 21-24, 2021. Participating teams will deploy autonomous systems to map, navigate, and search underground tunnel, urban, and cave spaces. Teams earn points by correctly identifying artifacts placed within those environments.
Eight teams will participate in the Systems Competition with real robots, and 10 Teams in the Virtual Competition, deploying autonomous systems to map, navigate, and search underground spaces. Teams earn points by correctly identifying artifacts placed within those environments.
- Systems teams’ physical robots will need to quickly navigate unfamiliar underground environments in search of common items including backpacks, cell phones, trapped survivors, and even invisible gas.
- Virtual Competition teams submitted autonomy software solutions for exploring simulated underground worlds in search of similar items and their runs will be broadcast in tandem with the Systems Competition.
$5 million in prizes is at stake in the final competition, including a $2 million 1st place prize in the Systems Competition and a $750,000 1st place prize in the Virtual Competition.