The use of robots in search and rescue operations has increased dramatically over the years. A robot is able to detect survivors of a dangerous situation, like an earthquake, without putting the operator’s life in danger as well. There are many types of robots being developed for search and rescue purposes, but a smaller and more durable robot will be beneficial for designs in the future.
The purpose of our project is to research and design a soft body robot that is capable of locating individuals in search and rescue operations. The robot has a design similar to a car which will allow the control of the robot to be easy to use. It has been designed with a self-righting mechanism in case the vehicle flips over or gets stuck. The robot has a small size so that it can fit through small holes that a person could not enter. The robot will be capable of traversing over uneven terrain, including small ledges through an actuator. The actuator will be designed to cause the robot to spring over or on a ledge. According to simulations from SolidWorks, the wheels of the robot can also withstand a drop from 2 meters. The design and material of the wheels will be further tested and changed to increase the performance of the wheel. Once a design has been chosen, the body of the robot will be designed. Current designs of ground rescue robots will be studied in order to attain a better understanding on what designs work best. The hope is to make the robot more durable than previous designs using a soft material as the outer shell of the robot. A soft material should allow the robot to be able to absorb impacts from falling debris or unexpected falls.
Once the design of the robot has been optimized, a prototype will be created. The next step will be to code the robot so that it can be controlled with a remote. The current proposal is to use an Arduino board to send and receive signals from that remote. Then a camera will be attached to the robot which will allow the operator to see where the robot is and where the survivors are located.
Interoperability in a Heterogeneous Team of Search and Rescue Robots
