TrackReitar Rescue robots

Earthquake

Many advanced developments are explicitly devoted to creating robots, promising earthquake response.

During an earthquake, usually after the primary wave, most buildings collapse. A search and rescue operation consisting of humans and dogs is sent into those buildings to search for survivors. A wave of aftershocks and repeated earthquakes sets in, and the entire rescue team can be covered with half-collapsed building debris. To avoid many casualties and victims, rescue and retrieval robots are used to replace humans. Instead of a human team with a dog or a group of people, a robot, controlled by a teleoperator from a safe place, enters the half-destroyed building.

It is worth noting that it is crucial to act quickly in such situations, as the time factor is essential. To map the rubble and detect possible places of penetration inside, robot rescuers are equipped with unique cameras capable of recording images and determining the distance to objects. The system can also analyze images from two cameras (color and depth) to detect cracks, gaps, openings, and holes through which to search for survivors. The size of the holes, depth, and environmental conditions are taken into account.

Many difficulties arise after an earthquake; a half-destroyed building consists of an array of collapsed reinforced concrete structures that do not allow signal propagation. To avoid loss of communication with the robot due to the lack of wireless, the robot is often clipped to a cable and launched into the room. But first, the line is limited in length. Secondly, the cord keeps clinging to protruding parts of demolished buildings. To avoid this, at the current level of development of search and rescue robots, developers are trying as much as possible to apply all the capabilities of artificial intelligence. A rescue robot is endowed with a certain level of consciousness and the ability to self-learn, so it can understand in time the dynamic changes that have occurred, and the problem encountered and act according to an unpredictable algorithm, regardless of the person who previously managed it.

It is vital that the robot can roll over and perform its functions in this position, as well as move across different types of terrain. The robot can also be equipped with various interchangeable equipment: load grippers, circular saws, fire extinguishing equipment, etc. Remotely controlled search and rescue vehicles act as the first scouts of the territory and other participants to ensure the safety of human personnel.

Avalanche

Time is also a critical factor in this situation. There are no more than 15 minutes to rescue snowbound people before they die of asphyxiation. During this time, it is necessary to find survivors in a vast area covered by an unstable layer of snow, which poses a danger to the rescuers themselves. Now climbers take individual beacons with them, and the search by cell phone signals is also applied. However, this does not make it possible to search fast enough.

Various robotic platforms for mountain search and rescue are applied to carry out search and rescue work. It can be a system consisting of several types of radio-controlled robots. For example, the following combination is often used:

• A high-altitude helicopter or aircraft designed for general monitoring and control in the search area, equipped with lidar for quick mapping and a radio repeater to ensure regular communication.

• A small multi-copter drone designed for rapid and detailed examination of specific areas, including hard to reach, such as ditches and cracks. It has a laser scanner for quick mapping.

• A ground rover equipped with a multifunction arm. Compact enough to be carried on your back by a human. Equipped with a radio repeater and acts as a charging station for drones.

Also, a particular container is used to carry supplies, equipment, and drones, which also works as a charger. Such systems are versatile and can be used far beyond searching for an avalanche.

Rescue robots and a group approach

The application of group principles in robotics represents a new approach to coordinating a variety of simple robots. It is assumed that the desired collective behavior arises from the interaction of robots with each other and their interaction with the environment.

Relatively simple rules of individual behavior can create complex organized behavior of the whole group. The critical point is the interaction between the group members, which design a constant feedback system. The group's behavior includes a continual change of participants interacting with each other.

Unlike distributed robotic systems, role-based robotics involves many robots interacting using only local communication. Such local contact can be created, for example, based on wireless data transmission systems in the radio frequency or infrared ranges.

This use of a group of robots has several advantages.

1. If there is a lot of large concrete or metal debris at the crash site, communication with the operators is likely to be very unstable, so in contact with a particular robot is lost, communication with it can be maintained through a chain of robots that are within transmitter range.

2. A group of robots also allows you to distribute the work at the disaster scene. Each performs its task but can take over the duties of any other robot if something happens to that one or as instructed by the operator. It is somewhat reminiscent of using one giant robot with a brain of individual elements.

Sanitation robots

It is a specially designed robot designed to perform rescue work on the battlefield, as well as in the aftermath of earthquakes or other emergencies. The machine itself can evacuate a person. The gyroscopes and computer-controlled motors allow the robot to keep its balance without dropping its load. Dynamic balancing technology enables it to keep its balance, even when carrying heavy objects.

Developments in artificial intelligence have enabled the robot to process multimodal commands given by the operator, such as "Go there" or "Pick up that box. If the robot cannot execute the operator's order for some reason, it is programmed to ask the operator for help to complete the task.

The robot is equipped with an IR port, night vision and optical cameras, a microphone, pressure, and tactile sensors. The robot has explosion-proof and flame-proof protectors and batteries.

Applications and tasks performed by the sanitation robot

One of the robot's tasks is to carry an injured person out of a dangerous environment to a place where a medic can assess the severity of his bodily injuries without risking his life. The robot's size, equipment, and features, including its small width, allow it to perform outdoors and indoor tasks, such as walking through doors and climbing stairs.

Other applications: search and rescue, transporting supplies, removing obstacles, lifting heavy objects, handling hazardous materials, surveillance, an inspection of mines, and improvised explosive devices. The robot is designed to rescue people in a mine, in areas contaminated with biological, nuclear, or chemical waste, in an unsafe building after an earthquake, fire, landslide, or explosion.

The robot can have industrial and commercial applications, such as lifting and safely moving heavy equipment. The machine can safely carry severe patients in hospitals and help people with disabilities and the elderly in healthcare.