May 05, 2007
Robotic Firefighting Device
ZDNet points us to an article about a robotic firefighting device at Innovations-Report.com.
"Try to picture a snake-like robot that can move into places that are too dangerous for humans to enter. The snake can climb up stairs, force past beams and twist itself round corners. Imagine that it has a built-in advanced water tap that not only can be turned on and off, but can allow the direction of the water flow to be altered....
The snake has a wide variety of applications: fighting fires where humans can not enter due to heat or the risk of building collapse; underwater operations in connection with maintenance of oil installations on the sea floor; rescue operations in earthquake areas and potentially explosive situations.
“Tunnel fires are explosive and it is extremely dangerous for firefighters to enter the tunnel to extinguish the fire,” says Stavdahl. “In such situations, it is possible to imagine a whole nest of snakes slithering out from a layer in the tunnel. Since the snake has modules, it is possible to design snakes for different functions: snakes can, for example, provide oxygen masks to people trapped in the tunnel, light up the tunnel or carry a camera that provides firefighters outside an overview of the situation without requiring them to enter."
Interesting research and who would buy it. Maybe one device for a city the size of Cleveland or Bakersfield. Boston Fire Department maybe 2? Oil rigs? Mining sites? I'd like to see it in action.
"Try to picture a snake-like robot that can move into places that are too dangerous for humans to enter. The snake can climb up stairs, force past beams and twist itself round corners. Imagine that it has a built-in advanced water tap that not only can be turned on and off, but can allow the direction of the water flow to be altered....
The snake has a wide variety of applications: fighting fires where humans can not enter due to heat or the risk of building collapse; underwater operations in connection with maintenance of oil installations on the sea floor; rescue operations in earthquake areas and potentially explosive situations.
“Tunnel fires are explosive and it is extremely dangerous for firefighters to enter the tunnel to extinguish the fire,” says Stavdahl. “In such situations, it is possible to imagine a whole nest of snakes slithering out from a layer in the tunnel. Since the snake has modules, it is possible to design snakes for different functions: snakes can, for example, provide oxygen masks to people trapped in the tunnel, light up the tunnel or carry a camera that provides firefighters outside an overview of the situation without requiring them to enter."
Interesting research and who would buy it. Maybe one device for a city the size of Cleveland or Bakersfield. Boston Fire Department maybe 2? Oil rigs? Mining sites? I'd like to see it in action.
Labels: firefighting technology
