{"id":11836,"date":"2018-11-19T13:15:59","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T18:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=11836"},"modified":"2018-11-19T16:14:28","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T21:14:28","slug":"the-robotic-underground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/","title":{"rendered":"The Robotic Underground"},"content":{"rendered":"<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11839 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of tunneling robot\" width=\"834\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg 834w, https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground-768x460.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 834px) 100vw, 834px\" \/>\n<p>A robot travels through a tunnel buried deep underground. Using its camera, it searches every nook and cranny in the dark passageway for potential hazards, mapping its path as it goes. It relays this information to its operators in real time, giving them vital information to protect people who will eventually make the same journey.<\/p>\n<p>Although this sounds like a common scenario for the military or border patrol, nothing that performs this specialized task exists currently, explains William Bagley, associate research engineer at the Whiting School\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.erg.jhu.edu\/node\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Energetics Research Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why Bagley participated recently in a robotics workshop and challenge at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The event, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office, brought together individuals from different backgrounds, including computer programmers, college students, engineers, and explosive ordnance disposal technicians like Bagley.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop kicked off with an overview of what these participants would be facing for the challenge: They\u2019d work together in teams to design robots capable of passing through a service tunnel on the Johnson Space Center property. To achieve this feat, they\u2019d be given access to various commercial robot kits and accessories, NASA\u2019s large vehicle construction building, a machine shop, and workspace with all the manufacturing equipment they\u2019d need.<\/p>\n<p>The tunnel itself presented myriad challenges, Bagley explains. Topping the list was communications: Numerous wires and plumbing lined the twisty tunnel, which lay more than 20 feet underground, making radio frequency communication an unlikely possibility. The tunnel also had physical obstacles, including a set of steep, irregular stairs.<\/p>\n<p>After a brief safety discussion, the participants split into five teams to start building, an iterative process that proceeded over the next four days. On Friday, the teams each lowered their robots into the tunnel to see which ones could successfully navigate through while identifying a set of pre-placed hazards. Bagley\u2019s team\u2019s design\u2014a heavily modified tracted robot\u2014was the only one to meet all the objectives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing like this really exists in current fielded systems for military, law enforcement, or the harsh environments of space,\u201d Bagley says. \u201cBy bringing different minds together, we each played a small role in accomplishing something big.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A robot travels through a tunnel buried deep underground. Using its camera, it searches every nook and cranny in the dark passageway for potential hazards, mapping its path as it goes. It relays this information to its operators in real time. \u201cNothing like this really exists in current fielded systems for military, law enforcement, or the harsh environments of space,\u201d says Hopkins engineer William Bagley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[277,1148,1506,2063,3644,3649,3654],"class_list":["post-11836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact","tag-energetics-research-group","tag-robotics","tag-whiting-school-of-engineering","tag-johns-hopkins-engineering","tag-robot","tag-william-bagley","tag-department-of-defense","issue-winter-2019"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Robotic Underground - JHU Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Robotic Underground - JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A robot travels through a tunnel buried deep underground. Using its camera, it searches every nook and cranny in the dark passageway for potential hazards, mapping its path as it goes. It relays this information to its operators in real time. \u201cNothing like this really exists in current fielded systems for military, law enforcement, or the harsh environments of space,\u201d says Hopkins engineer William Bagley.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-19T18:15:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-11-19T21:14:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"834\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abby Lattes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abby Lattes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Abby Lattes\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0244393be370fbc3ead8ec26062e9742\"},\"headline\":\"The Robotic Underground\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-19T18:15:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-19T21:14:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":374,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Energetics Research Group\",\"Robotics\",\"Whiting School of Engineering\",\"Johns Hopkins Engineering\",\"Robot\",\"William Bagley\",\"Department of Defense\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Impact\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Robotic Underground - JHU Engineering Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-19T18:15:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-19T21:14:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0244393be370fbc3ead8ec26062e9742\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg\",\"width\":834,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Illustration of tunneling robot\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/the-robotic-underground\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Robotic Underground\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/\",\"name\":\"JHU Engineering Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0244393be370fbc3ead8ec26062e9742\",\"name\":\"Abby Lattes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c56cb7af5427f847aa288542444ba9ff3d2107bf85dc6c6d44a4d1315608258d?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c56cb7af5427f847aa288542444ba9ff3d2107bf85dc6c6d44a4d1315608258d?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c56cb7af5427f847aa288542444ba9ff3d2107bf85dc6c6d44a4d1315608258d?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Abby Lattes\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Robotic Underground - JHU Engineering Magazine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Robotic Underground - JHU Engineering Magazine","og_description":"A robot travels through a tunnel buried deep underground. Using its camera, it searches every nook and cranny in the dark passageway for potential hazards, mapping its path as it goes. It relays this information to its operators in real time. \u201cNothing like this really exists in current fielded systems for military, law enforcement, or the harsh environments of space,\u201d says Hopkins engineer William Bagley.","og_url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/","og_site_name":"JHU Engineering Magazine","article_published_time":"2018-11-19T18:15:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-11-19T21:14:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":834,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Abby Lattes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Abby Lattes","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/"},"author":{"name":"Abby Lattes","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#\/schema\/person\/0244393be370fbc3ead8ec26062e9742"},"headline":"The Robotic Underground","datePublished":"2018-11-19T18:15:59+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-19T21:14:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/"},"wordCount":374,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg","keywords":["Energetics Research Group","Robotics","Whiting School of Engineering","Johns Hopkins Engineering","Robot","William Bagley","Department of Defense"],"articleSection":["Impact"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/","name":"The Robotic Underground - JHU Engineering Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg","datePublished":"2018-11-19T18:15:59+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-19T21:14:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#\/schema\/person\/0244393be370fbc3ead8ec26062e9742"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Robotic-Underground.jpg","width":834,"height":500,"caption":"Illustration of tunneling robot"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2018\/11\/the-robotic-underground\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Robotic Underground"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#website","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/","name":"JHU Engineering Magazine","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/#\/schema\/person\/0244393be370fbc3ead8ec26062e9742","name":"Abby Lattes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c56cb7af5427f847aa288542444ba9ff3d2107bf85dc6c6d44a4d1315608258d?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c56cb7af5427f847aa288542444ba9ff3d2107bf85dc6c6d44a4d1315608258d?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c56cb7af5427f847aa288542444ba9ff3d2107bf85dc6c6d44a4d1315608258d?s=96&r=g","caption":"Abby Lattes"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11836"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12171,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11836\/revisions\/12171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}