Future Firefighters

A "Robot on reins" in a smokey cave

          The King's College London and Sheffield Hallam University have developed a new type of robot to potentially save a firefighters life. Unlike the actual robot dogs as mentioned in one of my previous posts, these robots are made to sense any objects that may be blocking a firefighters path while they are in the fire. The robots are equipped with tactile sensors that enable them to detect any objects that it might run into. As stated by an article on sciencedaily.com " firefighters could save vital seconds moving through fires, thanks to revolutionary reins that enable the robots to act like guide dogs".  As the robot encounters an object it emits vibrations and other signals that travel through the reins to the firefighters hand that are supposed to be able to inform a firefighter of and objects size shape and stiffness. In theory the robots should be very beneficial to firefighters during fires, especially when minimal time is available. No matter how well a firefighter may know the layout of a building or house, during a bad fire the firefighters face a struggle with very low visibility caused by the smoke and dust. And even if it was a well-known house to a firefighter, fires could cause a wall to fall and if the firefighter does not notice it then their life may be in danger. The robots are programmed to sense any hesitations and movements made by the person in control and have the availability to adjust their movements in orer to compensate for the human controller. They may even be able to be programmed to eventually predict the users next steps and detect a firefighters level of trust in it.
         However, the creating team did not release too many specific details of the robot yet causing several question to arise, such as:

• How much do these robots cost to make?
• Will these robots become a common thing for every firehouse?
• What is the melting point of these robots or what is the max heat that they can withstand?
• How much do these robots weigh?
• How long would they take to set up on the scene of a fire?

Original Article:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150325082029.htm