DARPA announces 12 teams to compete in finals of simulated underground robotics competition for $1.5 million in prizes

Twelve teams have qualified for the DARPA Subterranean (SubT) Challenge Virtual Competition Final Event, to be held September 21-24, where $1.5-million of prizes are at stake. Their algorithms will guide virtual versions of real robots as they drive or fly through unfamiliar simulated underground courses and locate items of interest such as injured survivors, cell phones, backpacks, and even hazardous gas, the Defense Advanced Research Agency announced.

The virtual robots are chosen from the SubT Tech Repo including models with various sensor payloads, many of which are identical to those used by teams competing in the physical Systems competition. Teams are each able to mix and match robots to create their virtual squad.

The contest will be held simultaneously with the SubT Challenge Systems Competition Finals, at which real robots will navigate underground environments in search of artifacts at the Louisville Mega Cavern. Both the Virtual and Systems events will involve elements of tunnel, urban, and cave environments. They also share challenge elements such as austere navigation, degraded sensing and communication, dynamic obstacles, and rough terrain.

“The SubT Challenge Virtual Competition is providing extremely valuable insights leading to robot innovations that will improve exploration in unique underground situations,” said program manager Timothy Chung. “The competition is fun, but it is also pushing boundaries and creating new tools – both for research and field implementation – that will be used well after this event.”

There will be an awards ceremony September 24th at which teams in the Virtual Competition will be presented with prizes of $750,000 for first place, $500,000 for second place, and $250,000 for third place. All teams, whether self-funded or DARPA-funded, are eligible for the prize money.