About CRASAR

Workshop and field exercises at the NASA Ames Research Center's DART facility and co-hosted by CRASAR
2004 workshop and field exercise at the NASA Ames Research Center’s DART facility (co-hosted by CRASAR)

The Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) is a Type II Center at Texas A&M University, with Dr. Robin Murphy as the overall Director. It serves as crisis response and research organization which strives to direct and exploit new technology development in robotics and unmanned systems for humanitarian purposes worldwide. It was originally established under the auspices of NIUSR (National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue), and participated in the WTC response, deploying robots on Towers 1 and 2, Building 4, and other areas from the early morning of 9/12/2001 through 10/2/2001. Since then, we have participated in numerous incidents and exercises as well as hosted workshops and training exercises (see below). CRASAR has the largest number of deployments of rescue robots of any type: land, sea, or air.

Our mission is to serve existing rescue organizations by providing deployable robot-assisted search and rescue teams while fostering research into SAR-specific robot systems and educating the public.

Incidents CRASAR has Participated In:

1. 2001 World Traded Center 9/11: UGVs

2. 2004 Hurricane Charley: UGV

3. 2005 La Conchita Mudslides: UGV

4. 2005 Hurricane Katrina: fixed-wing UAV, rotor-craft UAV

5. 2005 Hurricane Katrina, restoration operations: rotor-craft UAV

6. 2005 Hurricane Wilma, surface UMV

7. 2007 Midas Gold Mine Collapse, Nevada: UGV

8. 2007 Crandall Canyon Coal Mine Collapse, Utah: UGV

9. 2007 Berkman Plaza II Collapse, Jacksonville FL, response: UGV

10. 2008 Berkman Plaza II Collapse, structural forensics: rotor-craft UAV, UGV

11. 2008 Post-Hurricane Ike: surface UMV

12. 2009 State Archives Collapse, Cologne Germany: UGV

13. 2009 Post-L’Aquila Earthquake, Italy, reconstruction operations: rotor-craft UAV

14. 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident: rotor-craft UAV

15. 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami, restoration operations: ROV UMV

16. 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami, reconstruction operations: ROV, AUV UMV

17. 2014 SR530 Mudslides: rotorcraft UAV