{"id":4585,"date":"2021-10-01T09:25:57","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T13:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robodk.com\/blog\/?p=4585"},"modified":"2025-09-29T05:08:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T09:08:38","slug":"monthly-robotics-news-sept-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robodk.com\/blog\/monthly-robotics-news-sept-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Monthly Robotics News – September 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The most interesting and intriguing robotics news from the past month, brought to you by the team at RoboDK.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work from home directives, lockdowns, and pandemic-related travel restrictions are driving an unprecedented surge of interest in the use of digital simulation software for all sorts of scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One such scenario is DARPA’s Subterranean Challenge (SubT), which held a ‘Virtual Competition’ in September. Launched to enable teams to participate in the SubT without having to travel in person, the virtual event sees teams deploy robot simulations in simulated underground environments. DARPA explains: “Teams in the Virtual Competition developed software and algorithms using virtual models of systems, environments, and terrain to compete in simulation-based events, and explore simulated environments.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preparing for the final series of events in the DARPA SubT Challenge. Credit: <\/em>DARPA<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The final Virtual Competition event was held at the end of September in the Mega Cavern complex in Kentucky, U.S.A. with Team Dynamo picking up first place and a prize of USD750,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched in 2018, the DARPA SubT is held to spur improvements in robot performance when it comes to mapping, navigating, searching, and exploiting complex underground environments from human-made tunnel systems to natural cave networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A separate Systems Competition, involving physical robots taking on navigation and mapping challenges, was won by Team CEREBRUS (\u2018CollaborativE walking & flying RoBots for autonomous ExploRation in Underground Settings\u2019) who picked up a cool USD2 million in prize money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNET provided a livestream of the final day\u2019s events, September 24, as robots competed in both the Virtual and Systems competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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