Search

Regarding global path planning for search and rescue robots, the traditional method of A* algorithm is slow and has many turning points along the intended route, which hinders its searching speed. A new and enhanced A* algorithm is presented in this paper, incorporating the Floyd-trajectory optimization algorithm. The search directions of the traditional A* algorithm were refined from eight to five. Next, we improved the cost estimation function by introducing a weight value to balance the estimated heuristic function value with the actual cost value, thereby enhancing the algorithm's search efficiency. Finally, we applied the Floyd path optimization algorithm to eliminate redundant nodes from the route. The use of both the Floyd and A* algorithms in combination has been proven through simulations and experiments to improve search results by 40% compared to solely using the A* algorithm. This integration effectively reduces the search scope, diminishes the number of turning points by 63.8%, improves path smoothness, and effectively shortens the planned path length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a disaster site, unforeseen circumstances can severely limit the activities of rescue workers. The best solution is for a cooperative team of robots and rescue workers to complete the rescue work. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a simple and low-cost sensing and control architecture for a search and rescue assistant robot using a thermal infrared sensor array, an ultrasonic sensor, and a three-axis accelerometer. In the proposed architecture, we estimate the location of human survivors using a low-cost thermal IR sensor array and generate and control the trajectory of approaching the searched human survivors. Obstacle avoidance and control are also possible through 3D position estimation of obstacles using 1D ultrasonic sensor integration. In addition, a three-axis accelerometer is used to estimate the tilt angle of the robot according to terrain conditions, and horizontal control of the storage box angle is performed using this feature. A prototype robot was implemented to experimentally validate its performance and can be easily constructed from inexpensive, commonly available parts. The implementation of this system is simple and cost-effective, making it a viable solution for search and rescue operations. The experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method, showing that it is capable of achieving a level storage box and identifying the location of survivors while moving on a sloped terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In disaster rescue scenarios, the high complexity and level of danger to the environment necessitate the efficient utilization of robotic technology to facilitate rapid search and rescue operations. Addressing this critical issue, this study focuses on optimizing global path-planning strategies. Specifically, the study has improved the classic A* algorithm by incorporating a bidirectional search mechanism and conducted simulation validation on a grid map to assess its performance. Considering the uncertainty and dynamic obstacles in the rescue environment, the study introduces the D* Lite algorithm integrated into the improved A* algorithm to enhance the robot’s adaptability. Concurrently, a movement prediction method based on the historical trajectories of dynamic obstacles has been proposed, aiming to effectively address the challenges presented by dynamic environments. To address the issue of time efficiency in multi-robot systems with multiple rescue points, this study employs the bat clustering algorithm to optimize the clustering of multiple rescue target points. Simulation experiments with the integrated algorithm have verified the effectiveness in shortening rescue paths and time in Matlab. Ultimately, the study utilizes Gazebo simulation software to construct a simulation experiment environment, further confirming the significant improvements in robotic rescue performance achieved by the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a disaster site, unforeseen circumstances can severely limit the activities of rescue workers. The best solution is for a cooperative team of robots and rescue workers to complete the rescue work. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a simple and low-cost sensing and control architecture for a search and rescue assistant robot using a thermal infrared sensor array, an ultrasonic sensor, and a three-axis accelerometer. In the proposed architecture, we estimate the location of human survivors using a low-cost thermal IR sensor array and generate and control the trajectory of approaching the searched human survivors. Obstacle avoidance and control are also possible through 3D position estimation of obstacles using 1D ultrasonic sensor integration. In addition, a three-axis accelerometer is used to estimate the tilt angle of the robot according to terrain conditions, and horizontal control of the storage box angle is performed using this feature. A prototype robot was implemented to experimentally validate its performance and can be easily constructed from inexpensive, commonly available parts. The implementation of this system is simple and cost-effective, making it a viable solution for search and rescue operations. The experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method, showing that it is capable of achieving a level storage box and identifying the location of survivors while moving on a sloped terrain.

In view of problems of poor adaptability, communication ability and maneuverability of current mine robots, a mine rescue robot group was designed. The robot group mainly includes a communication robot, a search and rescue robot, an auxiliary rescue robot, and a data processing center. The communication robot uses UWB radar for life detection to find out specific location of trapped person, and at the same time guarantees information transmission during rescue process through built-in relay device. The search and rescue robot walks according to the real-time path and feedback audio, video, and underground environment information, and acts as a communication device after finding the trapped person, thus constructs a communication channel between the rescuer and the trapped person. The auxiliary rescue robot includes a wrecking robot which is responsible for getting through the rescue route and a material transport robot which is responsible for delivering rescue items to the trapped people. The data processing center plans search and rescue route of rescue robot through GIS according to position information of the trapped person, and correct the path according to underground real-time information. All kinds of robots in the robot group cooperate with each other, complement each other's functions, and unify the information, which can effectively reduce secondary damage caused by unclear environment after the disaster and improve rescue efficiency.

Copyright of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal is the property of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal is the property of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal is the property of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal is the property of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The performance of a walking mechanism determines whether a coal mine rescue robot can successfully enter a disaster scene for conducting a rescue. To explore which type of the crawler-walking mechanism is more suitable for the coal mine rescue robot, five types of common crawler-type walking mechanisms were evaluated based on the following four aspects:walking ability, explosion prevention, handling, and reliability. In the process of evaluation, the space pass capacity, the maximum obstacle height, the maximum trench width, and the chassis height of the five types of walking mechanisms were theoretically analyzed. Then, a mathematical model for determining the influence of the number of motor drives on the difficulty of explosion-proof, handling, and reliability was proposed. According to the design experience of the coal mine rescue robot and the theoretical model, the five types of walking mechanisms were quantitatively evaluated. Finally, the walking mechanism with the angle of entry and departure is found to be most suitable for the coal mine rescue robot. Based on the evaluation results, the CUMT-V coal mine rescue robot was designed.

Copyright of Journal of Mine Automation is the property of Industry & Mine Automation Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper describes a novel approach for the autonomous localization of radioactive sources in complex unknown environments. The approach contains two stages: a source tracking stage for detailed source term estimation (STE) with recent measurements, and a relocation stage for transiting the robot to another sub-area after the current one is ruled out. The STE algorithm in conjunction with the convex polyhedrons extracted from the environment enables our method to be deployed in realistic scenarios with complex obstacles, which are often unfeasible for existing methods. The source confirmation algorithm in the relocation stage considerably accelerates the overall processing, improving the time efficiency in finding the radioactive sources. In both simulations and experiments, this approach is able to precisely localize at the success rate of 90% within an average of less than 13 measurements in 7 different environments, which is impressive when compared to the traditional STE which can hardly achieve an accurate estimation in most cases. • Dual stage planner for source search in practical unknown environment. • Divide complex world into perfect obstacle-free space with convex polyhedron. • Pseudo-Source confirmation based on particle filter and information entropy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency personnel, such as firefighters, bomb technicians, and urban search and rescue specialists, can be exposed to a variety of extreme hazards during the response to natural and human-made disasters. In many of these scenarios, a risk factor is the presence of hazardous airborne chemicals. The recent and rapid advances in robotics and sensor technologies allow emergency responders to deal with such hazards from relatively safe distances. Mobile robots with gas-sensing capabilities allow to convey useful information such as the possible source positions of different chemicals in the emergency area. However, common gas sampling procedures for laboratory use are not applicable due to the complexity of the environment and the need for fast deployment and analysis. In addition, conventional gas identification approaches, based on supervised learning, cannot handle situations when the number and identities of the present chemicals are unknown. For the purpose of emergency response, all the information concluded from the gas detection events during the robot exploration should be delivered in real time. To address these challenges, we developed an online gas-sensing system using an electronic nose. Our system can automatically perform unsupervised learning and update the discrimination model as the robot is exploring a given environment. The online gas discrimination results are further integrated with geometrical information to derive a multi-compound gas spatial distribution map. The proposed system is deployed on a robot built to operate in harsh environments for supporting fire brigades, and is validated in several different real-world experiments of discriminating and mapping multiple chemical compounds in an indoor open environment. Our results show that the proposed system achieves high accuracy in gas discrimination in an online, unsupervised, and computationally efficient manner. The subsequently created gas distribution maps accurately indicate the presence of different chemicals in the environment, which is of practical significance for emergency response.

This paper represents the relationship between the stability of stairs climbing and the centroid position of the search and rescue robot. The robot system is considered as a mass point-plane model and the kinematics features are analyzed to find the relationship between centroid position and the maximal pitch angle of stairs the robot could climb up. A computable function about this relationship is given in this paper. During the stairs climbing, there is a maximal stability-keeping angle depends on the centroid position and the pitch angle of stairs, and the numerical formula is developed about the relationship between the maximal stability-keeping angle and the centroid position and pitch angle of stairs. The experiment demonstrates the trustworthy and correction of the method in the paper.

This paper represents the relationship between the stability of stairs climbing and the centroid position of the search and rescue robot. The robot system is considered as a mass point- plane model and the kinematics features are analyzed to find the relationship between centroid position and the maximal pitch angle of stairs the robot could climb up. A computable function about this relationship is given in this paper. During the stairs climbing, there is a maximal stability-keeping angle depends on the centroid position and the pitch angle of stairs, and the numerical formula is developed about the relationship between the maximal stability-keeping angle and the centroid position and pitch angle of stairs. The experiment demonstrates the trustworthy and correction of the method in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequent natural disasters and man-made catastrophes have threatened the safety of citizens and have attracted much more attention. The rescue mission under disaster environment is very complicated and dangerous for a rescue team. Search and rescue (SAR) robots can not only improve the efficiency of rescue operations but also reduce the casualty of rescuers. Robots can help rescue teams and even replace rescuers to perform dangerous missions. Search and rescue robots will play a more and more important role in the rescue operations. A survey of the research status of search and rescue robots in Japan, USA, China and other countries has been provided. According to current research, experiences and the lessons learned from applications, the five key performances of a search and rescue robot are survivability, mobility, sensing, communicability and operability. Multi-technique fusion and multi-agent intelligent network are considered to be requirements for the future development of the search and rescue robot. Disaster prevention, disaster reduction and disaster rescue are the important parts of national public safety. They are also crucial for the safety of citizens and their estates. Search and rescue robotic technique is an urgent needed, strategic and core technique for national development. It will be important and strategic for national economy and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we introduce a new concept of a search and rescue robotic system that is composed of a hyper-redundant robot (HRR) which is mounted on a mobile base. This system is capable not only of inspecting areas reachable by the mobile base, but also of inspecting unreachable areas such as small cracks and pipes, using the camera and sensors mounted on its end-effector. The HRR is composed of 14 actuated, serially chained, d.o.f. which have been designed for compactness, yet each is strong enough to support the entire robot structure. The low-level control system of the robot incorporates 14 embedded mini-circuit boards implementing a low number of wires and highspeed, I2C data bus technology. The high-level control algorithms implement kinematic methods to perform on-line motion control both in a global coordinate frame and in the camera coordinate frame for which a camera is mounted on the robot end-effector. The user interface allows the user full and easy control and interpretation of the data received from the camera. All the components of the system are hose-able as required by search and rescue regulations. Finally, we describe the integration of all the above-mentioned components in a complete operational mobile hyper-redundant search and rescue robotic system. This system has been deployed and tested in several search and rescue training scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]