25 subterranean challenge, in which remote operations via wireless links were out, and true autonomy was in. The winner would be whoever could build a robot most capable of working continuously, reliably and intelligently beyond the reach of human intervention. “I knew that for robots to take the next great leap, they needed to be smart enough to understand where they’re working, and to navigate that environment,” Tome recounts. “Many people had Roombas [robot vacuum cleaners] by that point – they work great, but they’re confined to planar surfaces and small, static areas. “A dynamic, 3D environment brings an explosion of problems, and it made me realise I wanted my next project to be a robot that solved all those challenges but remained affordable.” This ideal solution in Tome’s eyes was an autonomous quadrupedal robot. He knew that, compared with bipedal types, quadrupeds are inherently easier to balance, control and automate their perception and navigation, bringing a compounding effect in cost reductions and ease of use. These are among the biggest reasons for the successes of ANYbotics’ ANYmal (issue 40, October/ November 2021), Ghost Robotics’ Vision 60, and Boston Dynamics’ Spot. Although the subterranean challenge had started a year prior to Tome joining, and he was competing against larger, better-funded organisations entirely by himself, he remained confident. “I’m a controls guy, and this third challenge was one of estimation – estimation and controls are practically the same thing mathematically. In control, you’re looking into the future to understand how to get somewhere, while in estimation you’re looking into the past to understand where you are in the present, so it was easy from my perspective. “I won first place in the virtual competition and received $1 million to fund the company and product I wanted to create, to build a few prototypes and get feedback from potential customers.” That win came in late 2021, but Tome had begun concept work on his ideal robotic solution several months before that. What emerged is a quadrupedal UGV known as the Keyper, which is designed for autonomous operations in a range of hazardous indoor environments, and draws on what he and his team have learned from robotics above and below ground. Engineering philosophy The Keyper is a 43 kg robot, which is a compromise between Tome’s team wanting the system to be as light as possible and the largely fixed mass of the system’s batteries, motors, electronics and metallic structural parts. The system is fully electric and runs for about 90 minutes between charges, with a 40 minute fast-charging time, although Keybotic plans to offer a slow-charging option in the future for users who are conscious of battery maintenance costs and the benefits of making batteries last longer. Keybotic Keyper | Dossier Uncrewed Systems Technology | October/November 2023 Four to the floor Rory Jackson charts the development of this quadrupedal robot designed for risk-laden heavy industrial facilities The Keyper was developed following CTO Hilario Tome’s win in DARPA’s subterranean autonomy challenge (Images courtesy of Keybotic)
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