Design of a Hybrid Exploration Robot for Air and Land Deployment (H.E.R.A.L.D) for urban search and rescue applications

Disaster scenarios involve a multitude of obstacles that are difficult to traverse for humans and robots alike. Most robotic search and rescue solutions to this problem involve large, tank-like robots that use brute force to cross difficult terrain; however, these large robots may cause secondary damage. H.E.R.A.L.D, the Hybrid Exploration Robot for Air and Land Deployment, is a novel integrated system of three nimble, lightweight robots which can travel over difficult obstacles by air, but also travel through rubble. We present the design methodology and optimization of each robot, as well as design and testing of the physical integration of the system as a whole, and compare the performance of the robots to the state of the art.