Small Scale Field Test 1.2, SMURF, 28-30 September 2021, Brignoles, France

The first field assessment  of the mini robot SMURF was held in Brignoles, France, on September 28 to 30. UIISC7 (Unité Militaires de la Sécurité Civiles) hosted the trial at their Facilities dedicated to USAR teams trainings.

Mobility capacities on different surfaces as well as the sensing capacities of the SMURF were tested in realistic conditions, in particular using embedded cameras. The opportunity was taken to integrate Sniffer submodules into two SMURFs and to test them in such mobile conditions in the field, even though this was not part of the original planning at this stage in the project.   A Mesh network allowing communication features for the SMURF with the workstation was also deployed and evaluated.

The 10 first responders present from Italy and France could put their hand on the tools and drive the SMURFs on different surfaces and through obstacles. The SMURF sensors were also tested in the presence of volunteer’s “victims” and their output was observed on the workstation: video and infra-red cameras, and Sniffer raw data.

In the next field trials to be held in Chambery France, other sensors and more features of the SMURF will be fully tested.