A Task Management and Navigation Framework for Autonomous Subterranean Exploration and Sampling*
Qiang Li, Yuehua Li, Yu Han Yuan, Zhicheng Yu · 2023
Robotic subterranean operations require a high level of autonomy to overcome constant communication interruptions and latencies. To accomplish fully autonomous exploration and sampling in subterranean environments, and to ensure a safe return of the robot, a task management system is designed to coordinate different navigation and sampling operations based on the progress of ongoing tasks. A navigation framework composed of graph-based exploration path planning and terrain-based sampling trajectory optimization is implemented to fulfill the navigation requirements of each task. The presented task management and navigation framework is implemented on a hexapod and field tested in a cave. Experiment results are presented.