Firefighting is considered one of the most challenging tasks that require heroic efforts to control and combat its spread. Similar to other areas that put humans at risk, scientists work to provide technological solutions to facilitate human life.
As part of the search for solutions to extinguish fires, especially those affecting residential areas and posing a significant challenge to rescue teams, a Japanese research team has developed a flying dragon robot that does not breathe fire but instead pours water to extinguish the flames.
According to the scientific journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI, the detailed plan for the new firefighting robot, named Dragon Firefighter, has been published. It is a flying firefighting hose that can assist firefighters in extinguishing the most dangerous fires.
According to the press release from the scientific research institution Frontiers and published by EurekAlert, robot scientists worldwide can use the “flying dragon” robot to combat fires from a distance and assist firefighters in extinguishing extremely large and dangerous fires that humans cannot easily combat.
Beginnings:
According to the press release from the scientific research institution Frontiers, the first thoughts of inventing a dragon robot for firefighting date back to 2016 when a research team led by Professor Satoshi Tadokoro at Tohoku University began working on inventing and developing flying robots. Since then, 11 researchers and students have contributed to its further development. The researchers coordinated with Japanese firefighters before and during the development to better understand their needs.
Associate professor at Osaka University, Dr. Youtchi Ambe, stated, “We offer here a preliminary model of a flying firefighting hose with a length of four meters that can be remotely controlled and is designed to safely and efficiently extinguish fires in buildings by approaching the fire source directly.”
The Main Challenge:
The primary challenge with the flying dragon hose will be to extend its reach beyond 10 meters (Shutterstock).
How Does It Work?
The press release from Frontiers mentioned that the Dragon Firefighter’s firefighting hose is pushed upwards (flying two meters above the ground) by eight controlled water thrusters from its center and head. The shape of the firefighting hose can be altered and directed towards the flames by a control unit on a wheeled vehicle behind it, connected to a firefighting vehicle with a 14,000-liter water tank.
The nozzles spray water at a rate of 6.6 liters per second at a pressure of up to one megapascal. The hose end includes traditional and thermal imaging cameras to help locate the fire.
Associate professor at Akita Prefectural University, Dr. Yui Yamochi, and co-author of the study, mentioned, “We have continued to work on improving our dragon and have learned many new things since the showcase at the World Robot Summit (2021), for example, we found that the original passive damping mechanism that resists fluctuations in the dragon firefighter’s body was not practical. It took a long time to prepare for flight, and we also found that the heat generated by the fires could cause harmful deformation to the plastic in the external applications of the corrugated tube carrying the water hose and electric cables.”
Dr. Youtchi Ambe expressed, “It is believed that it will take another approximately 10 years to deploy our robot in firefighting scenarios in the real world. The main challenge will be to extend its reach beyond 10 meters, and, therefore, developing effective firefighting methods tailored to the capabilities of this unique robot will also be a crucial aspect for further development.”
The improvements to be made to the developed robot will include better insulation against water leakage, a nozzle unit capable of dealing with a broader range of pure forces, and an improved mechanism for directing the water flow. Further developments are in preparation.
