It is estimated that around 500,000 civil works for the installation of wiring, piping and other small-diameter underground scoring are carried out in Europe each year.
These works are typically carried out by opening a ditch, extending the pipeline, then filling in the ditch. "The advantage of this robot is that it is possible to carry out the same drilling work without having to open a ditch, which prevents noise, pollution and inconvenience for citizens", the researcher notes.
Within the framework of this project, funded by the European Union's Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Innovation (GA 731968) and in which scientists from Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom are participating, the system has been tested under laboratory conditions. In particular, several underground drilling tests on land in northern Germany as well as in the Community of Madrid have been carried out.
The system prototype has caught the attention of the private sector, of both European and north American companies, and is currently continuing to be developed with the aim of starting tests in real urban environments. Researchers estimate that it could be ready to operate in cities within 2 to 3 years.
"The use of innovative localisation, mapping and navigation techniques, along with sensors and geo-radars, allows the systems to be adapted to different fields", explains the project coordinator Carlos Balaguer, professor at the UC3M's Department of Systems Engineering and Automation and one of the directors of the RoboticsLab.
Introducing these advanced robotic technologies which have cognitive and control capabilities has multiple possible applications, adds Professor Balaguer: "It will increase Europe's competitive edge in search and rescue operations (landslides), mining, civil applications (such as water, gas, fibre optics lines), exploration techniques, mapping, etc".
BADGER (roBot for Autonomous unDerGround trenchless opERations, mapping and navigation) is a European R&D&I consortium, coordinated by the UC3M, in which researchers and technologists from the Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (Greece), the School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow (Scotland, United Kingdom), IDS GeoradarSrl (Italy), Robotnik Automation SLL (Spain), SingularLogic S.A. (Greece) and TRACTO-TECHNIK GmbH&Co.KG (Germany) are participating.