Check out the TIME Magazine special edition “Rise of the Robots”! Daniel Cray started out interviewing us as a sidebar and then wrote a larger article “Search Engines” about rescue robotics in general as well as “Rescue Robots to Borrow” which was about CRASAR and Roboticists Without Borders. Both are great intros to rescue robotics, starting with Jim Bastan at NJ-TF1 which is the only US&R team in the US with robots. The pictures are all ground robots, so please don’t forget about the UAVs and UMVs (marine vehicles).
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in memoriam: Michael Beebe a Roboticist Without Borders
It is with great sadness that I must report that one of members of Roboticists Without Borders, Michael Beebe, has passed away unexpectedly at his home. Michael epitomized the RWB spirit of our volunteers- he had attended the 2013 Summer Institute at Disaster City® at his own expense in order to be trained as a data manager for the field teams. He has been an active advocate for disaster robotics, leveraging his experience as a Commander in the US Navy and later as a consultant on major initiatives such as Dr. Gary Gilbert’s robotic casualty evacuation program. Mike’s positive attitude, hard work in promoting robotics, and outgoing nature was an inspiration to me. He represents the commitment and expertise that make the Roboticists Without Borders program so special. Please see: http://www.bwfosterfuneralhome.com/Content/Obituary/193 for Michael’s Obituary.
Cheetah-Cub: A Robot That Runs Like a Cat
Developed by EPFL’s Biorobotics Laboratory (Biorob) this little robot is built to be able to run very quickly, nearly seven times its body length in one second even over small steps. Robots developed from this concept could eventually be used in search and rescue missions or for exploration.
Read a full article at Science Daily or Phy.org.
Law Enforcement, First Responder, Border Patrol ground robot market
WinterGreen Research announces a new study that is looking at robots used by Law Enforcement, First Responder, Border Patrol. As the US military pulls out of Iraq and Afghanistan, they have many robots built to help soldiers. The question is how can these robots be used now, and were they effeicntive. Many Law Enforcement, First Responder, Border Patrol are starting to look into using robots to help with their actions, and to help keep their units safe in dangerous situations.
Read the full article at Military Aerospace .
DARPA’s Virtual Robotics Challenge: OSRF Gets Simulator Ready
DARPA have created two qualifying events in which teams from around the world have been submitting entries to the VRC, in order to earn a place in the VRC itself. There are 26 teams in Track B (funded) as well as Track C (unfunded). The next step is for these teams is to complete in the VRC, which will be three increasing difficult simulation environments that the robot complete different tasks. The video on the sight lets you see the qualifying events, and the possible VRC events.
The full article is at IEEE Spectrum .
Drone Adventures Uses UAVs to Help Make the World a Better Place
Drone Adventures was founded earlier this year to find ways of “promoting the great potential of drones in civilian applications, focusing on conservation, humanitarian, cultural and search and rescue domains.” Drones are built to help us, and these guys are trying to find ways to do this, they just returned from a trip to help map Haiti.
Here is a link to the full article at IEEE Spectrum .
Washington state bridge collapsed when a truck’s cargo seemed to hit a support girder
An 18-wheeler carrying an oversize load struck part of the Interstate 5 bridge over Washington’s Skagit River. This hit caused to pavement to give way, causing two other vehicles to plunge into the water. Only one of the three people involved remained hospitalized Friday. That lady was in stable condition, according to Skagit Valley Hospital.
Here is a link to the full article at CNN .
UAVs and the Moore Tornado: response to CNN blog
CNN has a nice blog post on the UAVs that weren’t used at Moore. Here are my comments:
Small UAVs have been used at 11 disasters internationally. The first use of small UAVs was in the US by the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue, which I direct, during Hurricane Katrina as part of the Florida State Emergency Response Team. We have been advising on the use and procedures for getting permissions for the tornado response, as flying even a small UAV requires coordination with the other activity- hence the no fly zone. The FAA has had an emergency COA process for years, though we find many agencies and industries are not aware of it. We are happy to assist agencies and industries in adopting and deploying unmanned systems of any kind.
OKC Tornado– unmanned systems not the best fit, here’s why
Our hearts go out to the victims and the responders in Oklahoma. We have been working with the FEMA Innovation Team from shortly after the devastation occurred, however aerial and ground unmanned systems are not a good fit for this situation.
In terms of UAVs: There’s already aerial coverage from manned assets and it does not appear that multistory commercial buildings are heavily damaged. Two-story houses and apartment buildings and “strip malls” are well understood failures so additional aerial views are generally not needed to provide more information. If UAVs were available to the first responders, then they would be a much less expensive source of aerial information than manned helicopters or exploiting news helicopters. UAVs provide the ability to serve as wireless nodes (indeed, a big shout out to Roboticists Without Borders member Black Swift Technologies for their work with that) but the coordination with air traffic control and manned assets plus the deployment of COWs (cellular towers on wheels) means that if there weren’t available immediately, they are less likely to be of benefit.
In terms of UGVs: This is a wide affected area with “shallow” debris versus a big building collapse. Canines are the quickest way to locate any survivors that aren’t shouting or aren’t on the surface of the debris. You don’t need the UGV to penetrate the debris further than what a search camera can go to help find survivors or speed extrication.
In terms of UMVs: If there are lakes and streams, marine vehicles might be useful in searching for missing person who may have been swept into a pond and drowned.
We continue to stand by to provide assistance as needed.
Shrewbot Uses Whiskers to Map Its Environment
A new robot was shown off at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) called the Shrewbot, which is modeled after the Etruscan pygmy shrew. This robot uses its whiskers to map the objects in an area, and does not use any other senors. This research could have robot that go into area with low viability and still be able to map and understand the environment it is working in.
Here is the full aritcle at IEEE Spectrum.
