Explora robot explores dangerous caves to assess vulnerable bat colonies

Organization Name: Australian Droid + Robot

Country: Australia

Website: australiandroid.com.au

Year Founded: 2019

Number of Employees: 11-50

Innovation Class: Application & Markets

Innovation Subclass: Environmental

Description:

Australian Droid + Robot sent its Explora robot into old workings and caves in Australia’s Pilbara region that are too dangerous for humans to explore. The company’s client, the Rio Tinto Pilbara Environmental team, needed to ensure no critical biological species in the area would be in danger because of their operations in caving systems prone to collapse. The Explora has onboard sensors and payload capabilities that enable data capture despite challenging terrain and low visibility.

Analysis:

Australia is home to millions of species of flora and fauna, many of which are native to the country. One of these species is the Ghost bat, a vulnerable species only found in northern Australia. These were a particular concern for the Rio Tinto Pilbara Environmental team, as they live in caves only in specific regions of Australia and could easily go unnoticed until too late.

Sending humans into these caves to check for the bats, however, isn’t an option, as many of these cave systems are prone to collapse and too dangerous for humans. The Explora robot captured critical data that enabled the research team to make better decisions about how to protect the bat colonies in the future. RR –

Brianna Wessling