KRIS: A Robot for Material Transport in Relief Situations

This paper presents KRIS, a semi-autonomous robot developed for material transport in disaster relief situations. In collaboration with the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), KRIS addresses the limitations of manual transport in hazardous environments. The robot is designed for enhanced mobility in rough terrain, featuring modes such as manual control, gesture-based person-following, and autonomous shuttle operation. The system is equipped with advanced sensors, including LiDAR and RGB-D cameras, and employs AI-driven gesture recognition for hands-free operation. Two field tests evaluated KRIS's usability in realistic disaster settings, demonstrating its ability to transport heavy equipment while reducing physical strain on rescue personnel. The findings highlight the potential of KRIS to improve efficiency and safety in disaster relief operations.