Rescue RobotSahana Kanabar 7E

General Statement

• It is very hard to find people after natural disasters. The easiest way to do it would be through a systematic search. This is often hard, if not impossible within the time limit a person could survive, to look everywhere and under everything. Having a robot that could locate victims would greatly improve a lost person’s chance of survival.

• After many natural disasters, especially if there are collapsed buildings, it is difficult for rescue teams to find people that have been trapped. This is a problem because after such earthquakes or tsunamis many people will get trapped under or inside buildings.

Specific Statement

• This hasn’t necessarily affected me yet but I know that if I was in a position where me or someone close to me was trapped then I would want to know there was a high possibility of me being found. I would also try to hold out longer. There have been many cases in the past and even this year when many people have been stuck beneath buildings and it took a long time to get them out.

• Designing such a robot would also help me feel that I am doing more for people who live in affected areas. This would help many people and make the clean-up process faster.

Design Brief

• I will design and create a robot that has a tracking device that can locate people by the heat they give off. This product is for the rescue teams that are called in to rescue people. The product would help by locating people ahead of time with more accuracy as well as keeping the search more efficient. More people would get rescued with less injuries to themselves.

• If that design was successful if the robot was to be more advanced, I would design it so it could carry small amounts of food and water to people while the area was being cleared. There would be small, retractable compartments, which means the robot can still be small to fit through cracks.

Search Robot

• It is hard to find people if they get stuck under a collapsed building. Especially if search teams have to wait for the situation to stabilize. In New York they have tested some shoebox sized robots that enter the buildings ahead of people to search for victims. They can reach places inaccessible for people and dogs. There were several models, each with their own special feature.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/09/0914_TVdisasterrobot.html

Good Points• Having a robot sent out ahead of human

search teams could be essential to a person’s survival after being in a collapsed building.

• By using many appropriate methods the robot could ensure that more people are found within a shorter period of time.

• If several robots each had their own prominent sense then finding people would be more accurate and would find people in different circumstances.

What Could be Improved

• These robots are shoebox sized so that they are small enough to get in but big enough to contain all the vital functions. The robots they used could only locate survivors. It didn’t carry any first aid or food supplies in it.

• If the part could be contracted or the shape altered, then the robot would easily be able to carry around a first aid kit or supplies which could be critical to a person’s survival.

What Could be Improved

• The robot would be searching blindly through the building. This means it could miss seeing people or would just keep going over the same area.

• The robots would need some prior coordinates as well as something to light the way. That way it could search the whole building and find more people in a shorter amount of time.

Tools Needed

• A headlight. Inside the building would be pitch dark. If there is no light then it would be very hard to find anything.

• A circuit board where information is recorded and relayed back to control.

• A track. The robot needs a way to move so that it can move throughout the building.

Tools to Improve

• The speed. The robot needs to be able to move at different speeds. When searching it can go at a moderate or slow pace. But when someone is spotted it needs to get there much faster.

• An internal GPS. Coordinates or something similar need to be sent out to control so that the other forms of rescue can be sent in.

Instructions

• The robot would, in a building 20 by 20 meters, start on the edge and go along one side. Then it would turn 45° and go forward 20 m. It would repeat that once more and along the last edge only go 19 m. Turning 45° so it was parallel to the previous line. That would continue until it was travelling 18, 17 , 16 meters and so forth until it reached the center of the building.

Instructions• There would higher that would have higher

risk levels. The robot would need to go slower and with more caution in these areas as there are more likely to be people or ones in more critical conditions.

• Before being sent in the robot needs to have been instructed on first aid so that it can help a person it finds. It would work best having had some previous simulation or experience beforehand.

Instructions Improvement• This job requires a bit of flexibility. In that way

the robot has to have several objects to overcome the problem. It would function better if there was a manual override for certain situations.

• When a person is found the robot would venture off the set course. It needs to find it’s way back without skipping any bits. The robot needs set priorities, person, then back on track.

Search Dogs

• Search dogs are used ahead of people to sniff out people who were victims of the collapse. At the Search Dog Foundation in America their mission is to strengthen disaster response. After being trained, rescued dogs are partnered with firefighters and accompany them to disaster sites.

http://www.searchdogfoundation.org/98/html/index.html

Good Points

• Dogs have strong noses and if trained properly would be a valuable asset in finding a nearly buried person.

• Being partnered puts less stress on a person. After working together for a long time they would understand signals and work together well to complete their job.

• These dogs are professionally trained to do their job to the best of their ability.

What Could be Improved• Dogs would get hurt much easier than a robot.

They have bigger bodies and things falling from the ceiling would hurt them. As well as dust getting in their eyes and nose. They just have to be more careful than a robot and not be too perilous in their search.

• Their handlers and them have to be in top form. They need food, water and rest to be effective and give the best results. They need to be properly looked after and not overworked.

Tools Needed

• Obviously a dog! They are donate and then devote their lives to helping people in need.

• Professional training. If the dogs are to be of any use then they need to know basic things but also what to do in that situation.

• To be located. These dogs can only perform when they have a human partner to work with. Together they are able to locate (dog) and take out (human).

Tools to Improve• A way to communicate with the dog if it

enters a building. The dog’s partner may be out of hearing range but if it was connected to, say, a walkie talkie then the dog would still be able to understand the commands.

• Inside a building heat may be concentrated, the sole’s of the dog’s feet are not heat proof. Their hair also would easier make them feel warmer or catch fire. If would good if there was some sort of suit or spray that would protect the dog from getting uncomfortable.

Instructions

• A dog is donated to the foundation so they can turn it into a search dog.

• Professional training would involve things such as an obstacle course, which increases a dogs fitness and agility.

• Finding a partner for the dog who is somehow involved with rescues, such as a firefighter.

Instructions Improvement• So they can perform, the dogs have to be well

looked after and in top condition. Dogs that are brought in may not have been well looked after. So the dogs need to recover, or get used to humans before they can begin training.

• Currently these dogs have been excepted in various states in America. There are other places where dogs are un-liked, or not as common but they are very skilled and useful. It would be nice to see other places using search dogs as a means of rescue.

Firefighters

• Firefighters are a valuable human resource when it comes to protecting and prevention. They are often called to disaster sites to pull people out of the wreckage. They have access to a variety of tools that would be noteworthy in being a part of the rescue. Firefighters can be both male and female and while they are best known for fire control they can also do a number of jobs as a rescue service.

http://www.niagarafalls.ca/city-hall/fire/training

Good Points

• They have physical strength which is important in being able to handle and carry people with ease under pressure.

• They have access to many tools, such as oxygen masks and protective suits, which make entering a unstable building slightly less risky.

• They work in teams. As a group they work together to make the job easier.

What Could be Improved• Even though a team is group it could also hinder

progress. Some areas would only withhold one person and in groups they would often need to communicate. Depending on the situation and area being in groups or as an individual is fine.

• They are only human and have limited strength. There will be cases when they can’t reach, run, lift or climb without assistance from tools. Using their tools for such situations is what they are for.

Tools Needed

• All firefighters should be able to perform first aid. They would carry out first aid after extracting a person from the building.

• They also have training for getting in and out of confined spaces. This will help stopping them from getting stuck.

• All fire stations have standard fire trucks. These carry hoses, medical kits and specialized suits for water and fire.

Tools to Improve• To use use oxygen from a tank it needs to fit your

face. This doesn’t work if you have a beard. Even getting up in the middle of night, your face would have stubble. It would be easier if there was a flexible mask that would fit to the face.

• Some firefighters are partnered with dogs that help them search. The dogs would be used to working with a certain person. This limits their usefulness especially when that person isn’t working. The dogs should become familiar with everyone on the team so they can work with whoever is on duty.

Instructions

• Firefighters need to keep their bodies in shape. There are many things they would be required to do that takes strength and stamina.

• Get to know other people on your team. It would be impossible to do everything on your own, sometimes team work is necessary. If you have some connection or share a bond then your team work will be much better.

Instructions

• Being familiar with the tools you would need to use on the job would mean that you know them and would have more skill while handling it. It is important to use equipment correctly if it is to be of any use and improve the situation.

Instructions Improvement

• To be a good firefighter there are many training options. Depending on the area you are in and the sorts of problems there are, some would be more advisable then others.

• It is impossible to tell when accidents and disasters will happen. To be prepared at all times everything need to be put away and kept in good condition to be of any use.

Must Have

• A small compartment that carries a small first aid kit.

• The compartment holds the first aid kit so perform first aid on the victims and stop them from being more seriously damaged before the rescue team comes.

• Build the compartment and then try to fit in several first aid kits of different sizes.

Must Have• The robot has to be able to perform of first aid

on human victims.• As well as help stabilize the conditions of

injuries common after being in a collapsed building. This would keep a person alive long enough for them to be taken to hospital.

• Have trials where the robot can fix some common injuries, such as cut, scraps, stopping bleeding, restarting breathing and splinting broken bones.

Must Have• The ability to see, to make out different

colours.• This is so the robot would notice the colour of

ash, blood or the colours a person was wearing. Most of the inside of the building would covered in a light grey ash. Particular colours that stand out could indicate the location of a person.

• Lay out objects of several different colours. See which colours it goes towards, should not move towards anything grey.

Must Have• The robot should also be able to distinguish

different shapes.• A person laying on the ground would have a

very different shape to that of a beam. When everything looks grey the robot can see a humanoid shape.

• Have a person lie in various positions to make sure the robot can still sense a human. Record the distance and make sure it reacts differently then to inanimate objects.

Would Like

• Having a heat sensor the robot would be able to locate people from further away then with just sight.

• Heat sensors means the robot would able to locate all the people that were alive and immediately go to them instead of covering every square meter.

• The robot would have to be able to pick up warm objects and then move towards them.

Must Have

• Programmed to cover every square meter of the building. Orientation skills.

• This will make sure that all the people are found and that no area of the building was missed.

• Set the robot in a measured area. Have it move in the way it was programmed. It should follow the correct directions and leave no place unlooked.

Must Have• Must have a small frame that able to squeeze

through tight spaces.• The robot only really helps if it can go into

places where other methods won’t. The body should probably be long and thing, like a snake.

• Find the smallest space that the robot can fit through without damaging itself. Compare that to a reasonable sized space that the robot might have to fit through.

Must Have

• A head that can rotate and look in all directions.

• As the robot is moving through the building it needs to be able to see in all directions to then locate survivors.

• Have the robot focus on one thing. Then move the object in a 360° circle around the robot. The head should move to follow.

Must Have

• The robot needs to be able to climb over and under fallen objects.

• The terrain inside of the building isn’t going to be flat. The robot needs to be able to navigate while still following the correct course.

• Set the robot’s course. Place various objects in the way. It should either climb over or squeeze under. Good judgment on which to do is necessary.

Must Have• The robot needs to have some form of hands

or claws.• To perform first aid or to take things out of

compartments, the robot needs to have something to grab it with.

• Have the robot pick up objects of different sizes. Ones as big and heavy as small beams of metal to ones as small and light as small squares of fabric.

Must Have

• A direct way to contact the rescue teams when a person has been found. Possibly using GPS.

• Even if the robot finds a person it is no use unless the rescue teams can also find the person.

• Have the robot locate an object. Using an internal GPS, a mark should be placed where the person was found.

Specification Testing Checklist

Small Compartment for Kit

First Aid Skills

Seeing Colours

Distinguishing Shapes

Heat Sensor

Orientation Skills

Small Frame (size)

Head that can Rotate

Climb Over and Under

Remote Controlled

Holding Food and Water

Microphone

Hands to help Complete Tasks

GPS

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