A Three-Tier Hierarchical Robotic System for Urban Search and Rescue Applications

Previous efforts to employ robots in urban search and rescue applications (USAR) have had limited success due to a number of factors, including cost, accessibility and efficiency. A three-tier system of autonomous mobile robots is proposed and has been constructed to proof-of-concept stage. Importantly, the lowest level of this system comprises a multitude of disposable robots. The system can be implemented at an order of magnitude lower cost than existing systems, dramatically increasing its applicability and versatility. The hardware and software development of this system is discussed.