Hansel and Gretel's Trick Inspires Robotic Cave Exploration on Mars.

Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed a communication network that would allow a flock of robots to explore subsurface environments on other worlds. The system, called the "Breadcrumb-Style Dynamically Deployed Communication Network" paradigm, or DDCN, would link rovers, lake landers, and even submersible vehicles through a mesh topology network, allowing the machines to work together as a team, independently from human input. The approach could help address one of NASA’s Space Technology Grand Challenges by helping overcome the limited ability of current technology to safely traverse environments on comets, asteroids, moons and planetary bodies.