Snake robots support earthquake search and rescue in Venezuela – News

Carnegie Mellon University researchers worked alongside international search and rescue teams in Venezuela to explore collapsed buildings using snake robots(opens in a new window) in the wake of two massive earthquakes that destroyed two cities.

The robots, developed at the College of Computer Science’s Robotics Institute (opens in a new window), look and move like snakes. They can slide into tight spaces, and a camera mounted on the front of the robot gives responders a look inside spaces people can’t reach. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University hope that this technology can improve the search for survivors.

Kimberly Elenberg and rescue workers prepare to deploy a CMU snake robot into a collapsed building to search for survivors.

“What struck me most was not a lack of interest in technology; it was the opposite,” said Kimberly Ellenberg, a CMU team member who went to Venezuela and a retired U.S. Army and Public Health Service nurse with extensive disaster response experience. “First responders were keen on tools that solve real problems without adding complexity.”

Two earthquakes struck the northern part of Venezuela on June 24, and recent reports (opens in a new window) indicate that more than 5,000 people have died as a result. About 16,800 people were injured, and nearly 6,500 people were rescued. The earthquakes displaced about 18,000 people. The CMU team worked with the Venezuelan and Colombian Red Cross, members of the Mexican Topos search and rescue team, volunteers (opens in a new window), and search and rescue teams from around the world in La Guaira, one of the worst-hit cities in the country.

The team helped search several locations over three days in Venezuela from June 30 to July 3. While the team was unable to locate any survivors, scanning the site and determining that no one was trapped helped search and rescue teams reassure loved ones.

Howie Chusit

“The Venezuelan people are exceptional. Despite the unimaginable loss, they have shown us remarkable kindness, resilience, and gratitude. In just a few days, I felt truly connected to them,” said Howie Chusset (opens in a new window), professor of computer science and director of the Biorobotics Laboratory (opens in a new window). “This mission was a powerful reminder of our shared humanity and the promise and challenges of deploying robots during disasters.”

In addition to Choset and Elenberg, the CMU team included Biorobotics Lab members Nico Zevallos-Roberts (opens in a new window) and Darwin Meek. RI employees Yizhu Gu (Opens in a new window), Lu Li (Opens in a new window) and Ralph Boirum (Opens in a new window) worked around the clock to prepare the transportation systems before the team left.

The hope that Carnegie Mellon University’s snake robots would help began with Beatriz Gonzalez, a Venezuelan national living in Atlanta, who was searching the Internet for anyone who could help with search and rescue efforts in her homeland. Gonzalez works in technology and product development, and knew there had to be something that could navigate deep into collapsed structures, help locate survivors, and allow rescue teams to prioritize search sites.

“The rescue teams knew there were people missing, but they didn’t know where to focus their efforts within the huge debris field,” Gonzalez said. “Every hour counts.” “This led me to look into existing search and rescue robots. During my research, I found an article about the Biorobotics Lab deploying snake robots alongside the Red Cross during the 2017 Mexico City earthquake.”

“It was exactly the kind of technology I imagined.”

Gonzalez contacted Choset and within 24 hours, the CMU team and their snake robots were in Miami, waiting for a flight to Venezuela.

Once in La Guaira, researchers faced variable conditions, equipment malfunctions, logistical challenges, and language barriers. Zevallos Roberts’ fluency in Spanish and Ecuadorian background helped the team connect with responders and local families. Mick operated the snake robot and made repairs to it during searches inside collapsed buildings. Ellenberg used her disaster response experience to help establish operational logistics, including power generation and life support planning, which kept the team and robotic systems running in the field.

The snake robots were prepared for transport before the team deployed to Venezuela within 24 hours of receiving the request for assistance.

This work tested the limits of robotic systems, but also highlighted the critical role that logistics, energy, communications, and transportation play in success. It’s one thing for a robot to work in a lab. Working in the field, where the risks are high and the conditions are not ideal, is another thing.

“We have to stop designing robots for demonstrations and start designing them around the reality of the people who will depend on them,” Ellenberg said. “If the capability can help locate survivors after a disaster, it can also improve care in emergency departments, during epidemics or in the intensive care unit. This is the promise of dual-use technology: democratizing advanced capabilities so that they are available wherever lives are at stake.”

As the team worked, new research questions and directions emerged that would help improve the reliability, portability, and operational readiness of robotic systems designed for disaster response. This deployment revealed technical and operational shortcomings that researchers will need to address before systems like these become more reliable tools for disaster response teams.

Robots operating in real disaster conditions have revealed technical and logistical challenges that cannot be met in the laboratory.

“What makes me most proud is my team,” said Chausette. “Their professionalism, technical excellence and willingness to leave everything behind at any moment filled me with pride.” “This deployment also reinforced two important conclusions. First, I truly believe that no university other than Carnegie Mellon could assemble the people, technology, and culture needed to respond as quickly and effectively as we did. Second, the mission revealed fundamental research challenges that can only be solved by academia.”

More information about the Biorobotics Lab (opens in a new window) is available on its website. For more information about working with snake robots in this field, contact Howie Choset(opens in a new window).

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