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Dig Deep: DARPA Contest Aims to Take People Underground
space.com ^ | December 27, 2017 01:45pm ET | Tia Ghose, Associate Editor |

Posted on 12/29/2017 4:14:54 PM PST by BenLurkin

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced its latest challenge, called the Subterranean or "SubT" Challenge. The global competition asks entrants to develop systems that can help humans navigate, map and search in underground locations that are normally too perilous to visit.

  "One of the main limitations facing war fighters and emergency responders in subterranean environments is a lack of situational awareness; we often don't know what lies beneath us," Timothy Chung, program manager in DARPA's Tactical Technology Office (TTO), said in a statement. "The DARPA Subterranean Challenge aims to provide previously unimaginable situational awareness capabilities for operations underground."

Groups all around the world will compete to solve problems that help people navigate in unknown, treacherous subterranean conditions, where time is of the essence, according to the statement.

Teams can compete in one of two tracks: a Systems track, to develop hardware-based solutions for a physical course, or a Virtual track, to develop software to test on a simulated course, DARPA said.

The final competition, which will take place in 2021, will include three challenges that involve navigating in one of three environments: a network of human-made tunnels, a subterranean municipal-transit system and a network of underground natural caves. The final event will challenge teams to navigate networks that include elements of all three environments. The grand-prize winners will take home $2 million. The deadline to apply is Jan. 18, 2018.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Miscellaneous; Science
KEYWORDS: darpa

1 posted on 12/29/2017 4:14:54 PM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

2 posted on 12/29/2017 4:24:23 PM PST by UCANSEE2 (Lost my tagline on Flight MH370. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
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To: UCANSEE2

Remind me to put a tight mesh screen on my doomsday bunker air intakes.


3 posted on 12/29/2017 4:27:49 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: UCANSEE2; All

DARPA video
https://youtu.be/bP6wTWiokVY


4 posted on 12/29/2017 4:28:46 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

So, basically a FPS video game theme park!! Woot.


5 posted on 12/29/2017 4:29:41 PM PST by Bryanw92 (Asking a pro athlete for political advice is like asking a cavalry horse for tactical advice.)
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To: BenLurkin

They need high-tech whiskers... like cats, which have whiskers on their forelegs, forehead, muzzle and cheeks...


6 posted on 12/29/2017 4:45:40 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: BenLurkin

Drop a MOAB; no need to search anything.


7 posted on 12/29/2017 5:07:31 PM PST by Salvavida (The Missouri citizen's militia sends its regards.)
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To: Salvavida

Gasoline enema. Followed by a road flare.


8 posted on 12/29/2017 5:28:58 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

A real batty idea.


9 posted on 12/29/2017 5:41:27 PM PST by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: fella

Vault-Tech is born...


10 posted on 12/29/2017 5:49:46 PM PST by ak267
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