INTELLIGENT MOBILE ROBOTS (IMR)
For fire fighting and disaster mitigation.
Project Overview
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The aim of the project is to design and fabricate Intelligent Mobile Robots (IMRs) which are capable of fire fighting and disaster mitigation. The final product will be a small team of intelligent mobile robots with all the state of the art technologies embedded onto a single board. The board will be mounted on the mobile robots that will enable the robots to take intelligent decisions on the run and create an ad-hoc network at the disaster location
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Motivation
Applications which have human risks such as handling of nuclear waste, identification of location of explosives, etc., show the potential of use of mobile robots functioning as a group. Mobile robots have been used in search and rescue operation of World Trade centre terrorist attack and Hanshin-Awaji earthquake. In such situations mobile robots can enter voids too small or deep for a person, and can begin surveying larger voids that people are not permitted to enter until a fire has been put out or the structure has been reinforced. Robots can carry cameras, thermal imagers, hazardous material detectors, and medical payloads into the interior of a rubble pile and set up communication link with human operator using the ad-hoc network set-up by these robots.
In case of a nuclear disaster the rescue workers are vulnerable to the toxic radiations. It is very important to identify the location and cause of the disaster. The IMRs can move into these places and can help in transferring important information to the base station. The IMRs can move into hazardous areas and can identify the areas which are severely affected by the nuclear radiation.
When an area is struck by an earthquake it is utmost important to determine those areas which need immediate relief operations. Since the debris removal resources are limited and the time required to remove the complete rubble could be quite long. It is extremely difficult to determine the total number and locations of those victims who are buried deep in the debris. The IMRs can be an important device which can perform this operation very efficiently. The IMR equipped with IR sensors and cameras can go deep into holes and in areas which cannot be explored by humans.
As reported by the Karachi Fire Brigade Department, Fire risks ranging from type A to type F are present due to the building construction, electrical wiring in most of the industries. There are only twenty (20) fire fighting stations in Karachi. Karachi being a metropolitan city with an overwhelming population of 21 million has a shortfall of 80% fire fighting units. The shortfall in mobile fire units is 97%. If the fire breaks out in a congested area than fire can spread to a wider area due to the time required by the fire snorkel to reach the emergency point. The operational fire fighting personal fulfills only 17% of the requirement. There is an enormous requirement for low cost fire fighting machines which can replace humans.
In case of a nuclear disaster the rescue workers are vulnerable to the toxic radiations. It is very important to identify the location and cause of the disaster. The IMRs can move into these places and can help in transferring important information to the base station. The IMRs can move into hazardous areas and can identify the areas which are severely affected by the nuclear radiation.
When an area is struck by an earthquake it is utmost important to determine those areas which need immediate relief operations. Since the debris removal resources are limited and the time required to remove the complete rubble could be quite long. It is extremely difficult to determine the total number and locations of those victims who are buried deep in the debris. The IMRs can be an important device which can perform this operation very efficiently. The IMR equipped with IR sensors and cameras can go deep into holes and in areas which cannot be explored by humans.
As reported by the Karachi Fire Brigade Department, Fire risks ranging from type A to type F are present due to the building construction, electrical wiring in most of the industries. There are only twenty (20) fire fighting stations in Karachi. Karachi being a metropolitan city with an overwhelming population of 21 million has a shortfall of 80% fire fighting units. The shortfall in mobile fire units is 97%. If the fire breaks out in a congested area than fire can spread to a wider area due to the time required by the fire snorkel to reach the emergency point. The operational fire fighting personal fulfills only 17% of the requirement. There is an enormous requirement for low cost fire fighting machines which can replace humans.
Methodology
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Value Proposition
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Principal Investigator
Dr. Muhammad Bilal Kadri (PAF-KIET)
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Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Tariq Mairaj Rasool Khan (NUST-PNEC)
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