Team from BracU qualifies for final round of RoboCup Rescue 2024

BRACU ALTER, a rescue rover team from LaSSET (Laboratory of Space System Engineering and Technology) at BSRM School of Engineering of Brac University, has qualified for the final round of RoboCup Rescue Robot League 2024, an international robotics competition.

The final round of the competition is scheduled to be held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, from July 15 to July 24, 2024. Comprising 19 members from diverse disciplines, the team is led by Mehedi Hassan, with core members including Shahoria Ahmmad Durjoy (Mechanical and Manufacturing), Niaz Nafi Rahman (Control and AI), Tohora Tammim Anupoma (Communication and Networking), Mehedi Hasan (Control and AI), Farha Hassan Priti (Electronics and Firmware), and Mustaq Mujahid (Mechanical and Manufacturing). 

Regarding the rescue rover made by the team, Muntasir Ahad, a research assistant at LaSSET, said, "In Bangladesh, to perform successful and smart rescue operations, numerous types of rescue robots are being used by the army, RAB, and fire service. These robots are very costly and do not have after-sales service." "However", Ahad added, "our rover, which is made of only local components, has better features and is highly cost-effective compared to other rescue robots that are being used."

Abdullah Hil Kafi and Raihana Shams Islam Antara, lecturers at BracU's EEE department, are involved as the directors of LaSSET and advisors of BRACU ALTER. They also worked as core engineers of BRAC Onnesha, the Bangladeshi nanosatellite.

The RoboCupRescue Robot League, a well-renowned international robotics and AI competition, brings together researchers to create robots that help emergency responders in dangerous situations. These robots can work on their own or be controlled from afar, making them useful in complex environments like collapsed buildings. Established over twenty years ago, the league holds yearly robot evaluations worldwide to improve these robots and set standards for testing and training.