An elevation map from a micro aerial vehicle for Urban Search and Rescue: UvA Rescue, RoboCup Rescue Simulation League

Abstract

The developments in unmanned aerial vehicles make it possible to use this platform on a much larger scale. The current challenge is to use a team of flying robots to explore a city block, place lookouts at strategic points and if possible to enter some of the buildings in the block, to search for hazards and/or people. This challenge is still quite ambitious, but allows researchers to explore some of the aspects in simulation. This paper describes how to build a visual map of the environment including height information. This is an essential step towards more extensive applications, both in simulation and for a real platform.