Operations underground, for example in underground stations, tunnels or mines, are risky and difficult for rescue teams. This is especially true if the technical infrastructure has collapsed due to explosions or fire, and there are no mobile phone signals, electricity, light, Wi-Fi or GNSS, while smoke, debris and damaged paths make orientation even more difficult. In the NIKE MATE project, funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), a research team consisting of Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), the University of Leoben, the Federal Ministry of Defence, OHB Austria and the Laabmayr Engineering Office has developed a system for such missions. It combines sensor data from robots and rescue teams with a self-built UWB (ultra-wideband) network. This creates a dynamic map of the environment in which the team can locate and coordinate itself.
