EspeleoRobxc3xb4  a robotic device to inspect confined environments Robotic devices operating in confined environments such as underground, tunnel systems, and cave networks are currently receiving particular attention from research and industry. One example is the Brazilian mining company Vale S.A., which is employing a robot  Espeleolcobo  to access restricted areas. The robot was designed initially to inspect natural caves during teleoperated missions and is now being used to monitor dam galleries and other confined or dangerous environments. This paper describes recent developments regarding locomotion mechanisms and mobility analyses, localization, and path planning strategies aiming autonomous robot operation. Preliminary results from simulation and field experiments validate the robotic device concept. Lessons learned from multiple field tests in industrial scenarios are also described.

Resilient Autonomous Exploration and Mapping of Underground Mines using Aerial Robots This paper presents a comprehensive solution to enable resilient autonomous exploration and mapping of underground mines using aerial robots. The described methods and systems address critical challenges related to autonomy, perception and localization in conditions of sensor degradation, exploratory path planning in geometrically complex, large and multibranching environments, alongside reliable robot operation in communicationsdenied settings. To facilitate resilient autonomy in such conditions, a set of novel contributions in multimodal sensor fusion, graphbased path planning, and robot design have been proposed and integrated in micro aerial vehicles which are not subject to the challenging terrain found in such subterranean settings. The capabilities and performance of the proposed solution is fieldverified through a set of reallife autonomous deployments in underground metal mines.