September 30, 2021—The Subterranean Challenge, a prestigious three-year-long competition organized by DARPA, has come to a close, and Team CERBERUS, featuring Swiss indoor drone innovator Flyability, has emerged victorious. This challenge was designed to push the boundaries of robotic capabilities in navigating complex underground environments, and Team CERBERUS successfully demonstrated cutting-edge technology that will undoubtedly influence industries such as mining, wastewater management, and search-and-rescue operations.
DARPA initially introduced the Subterranean Challenge in 2018 with the aim of fostering innovations that could enhance operations in challenging underground settings. As IEEE Spectrum noted, the competition sought to encourage teams of robots to perform valuable tasks in environments that are difficult for humans to access. From subway systems and sewers to natural caves and tunnels, the competition encompassed a variety of underground terrains.
Adrien Briod, Co-founder and CTO of Flyability, expressed pride in being part of Team CERBERUS's success. He emphasized Flyability's commitment to leveraging robotics to ensure worker safety and improve operational efficiency. The journey to the finals began in 2019 with two major events—the Tunnel Event and the Urban Event—where teams showcased their technological advancements. Unfortunately, the Cave Event scheduled for 2020 was postponed due to the pandemic.
The grand finale took place last week at the Louisville Mega Cavern in Kentucky, a vast former limestone quarry now utilized for recreational activities. Competitors were tasked with navigating simulated environments that combined features from the previous events, including tight spaces mimicking mines, urban infrastructure, and cave-like systems. Visibility challenges, such as smoke, added complexity to the operation.
To succeed, each team's robots had to identify and locate specific artifacts hidden throughout the environment. These artifacts, placed by DARPA organizers, earned one point per discovery once accurately reported. Team CERBERUS triumphed by correctly identifying 23 out of 40 artifacts, narrowly edging out Team CSIRO Data61, which also found 23 but reported its final artifact slightly slower. Team MARBLE secured third place with 18 points.
Dr. Kostas Alexis, Team CERBERUS's leader and Director of the Autonomous Robots Lab at NTNU, highlighted the team's unique approach combining legged and flying robots. This strategy proved advantageous but required significant investment in custom hardware development. Despite these efforts, the team managed to excel in the competition.
Team CERBERUS relied heavily on four ANYmal C systems, advanced quadrupedal robots known for their agility and adaptability. These robots played a crucial role in exploring the intricate subterranean environments. You can watch the ANYmal C in action through this video link: [insert link].
Flyability, a pioneer in indoor drone solutions, contributed significantly to the team's success. Their technology allows drones to operate safely within confined spaces, providing industries like power generation, oil and gas, chemicals, maritime, utilities, and public safety with tools to reduce downtime, inspection costs, and workplace risks. For more information about Flyability, visit www.flyability.com or follow them on social media @fly_ability.
Team CERBERUS is an international collaboration comprising esteemed institutions such as the University of Nevada Reno, ETH Zurich, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, UC Berkeley, and the University of Oxford, along with industry partners like Flyability and Sierra Nevada Corporation. Under the leadership of Professor Dr. Kostas Alexis, this diverse group worked cohesively to achieve groundbreaking results in autonomous robotics.
For further insights into Team CERBERUS's work, visit https://www.subt-cerberus.org/. If you have any questions or need additional information, feel free to contact us at +41 21 311 55 00.
Heat Pumps And Air Conditioning Systems
Introduction to GENT heat pumps and Air Conditioning systems
Heat pumps and air conditioning systems is an air to water heat pump unit that based on the reverse Carnot cycle principle and uses the heat in the ambient air for cooling or heating. There are two kinds of heat pump hvac for cooling and heating, inverter unit and fixed frequency unit. What we want to introduce here is the inverter hvac and heat pump.
Working mode
This dc heat pump has two working modes, heating mode and cooling mode, which can supply users with hot and cold water or realize building heating and cooling.
1.The heating mode
The electric heat pump absorbs heat from the outdoor air, then releases the heat into the circulating water on the using side after compression and temperature increase, and then uses the pre-installed indoor terminals to achieve heat exchange between the water on the using side and the indoor air, thereby achieving indoor heating.
2. The cooling mode
In cooling mode, the circulation direction in the heat pumps and air conditioning systems is opposite to that in heating mode. In this mode, the unit absorbs heat from the indoor air and discharges it to the outside, thereby achieving indoor cooling.
Supporting equipment
From the above working mode, it can be seen that the output of the unit is cold water or hot water. The realization of indoor cooling and heating requires the assistance of indoor terminals, so users who purchase this heat pump with ac need to equip it with corresponding indoor terminals, so that building cooling and heating can be realized.
Common indoor terminals include floor heating pipes, fan coils, radiators, etc. Users can choose the appropriate terminal according to your preferences and actual needs.
In summary, the variable frequency air source aircon heat pump has many advantages, and the full DC frequency conversion technology is becoming more and more mature. Users can rest assured to buy inverter unit without worrying about product quality issues. Therefore, users who have indoor cooling and heating needs can take this variable frequency air source cooling and heating unit into consideration.
Heat Pump Hvac,Heat Pump With Ac,Dc Heat Pump,Electric Heat Pump,Hvac And Heat Pump
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