The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Tactical Mobile Robotics program

Today's regional military conflicts are increasingly likely to occur in pop ulated urban areas, in, around, over and under unknown buildings. This plac es land forces in dangerous and unpredictable situations, and in many insta nces the conflicts also threaten noncombatants. To address this need, the D efense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Tactical Mobile Robotics p rogram is researching and developing the capability to perform urban reconn aissance with teams of small, low-cost, semiautonomous mobile robots. Easil y transportable by individuals, these robot reams will be capable of workin g together to perform a variety of reconnaissance function. The program dev elops enabling technologies (machine perception, autonomous operation, and robotic locomotion) and integrates them into tactical systems for urban ope rations.