Piotr Kurządkowski, a student of the Faculty of Mechatronics of the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) and a volunteer firefighter, designed a remotely controlled mobile robot “LIvE SAVER”, which will help the fire brigade in rescue operations.

It is a small, compact robot controlled by the operator, which significantly increases the effectiveness of the actions, and above all, minimizes the risk to the health and life of firefighters. Piotr Kurządkowski emphasizes, that a “LIvE SAVER” will support firefighters in searching for injured people in fires in multi-story buildings.

The robot is mounted on an aluminium chassis, and its tracks are set in motion by two DC motors. The entire robot is managed by a microcontroller, cooperating with the camera module with wireless communication. In addition, the set is equipped with detectors of explosive gases, such as methane or LPG, and temperature and humidity sensors. The data collected from them are crucial for deciding on the course of a rescue operation. To ensure a larger view in the vertical axis, the camera was placed on a servomechanism. The entire system is powered by four batteries.

Without a robot, firefighters have to cover several dozen meters in each direction, leaned or even on their knees, in the totally unknown buildings. “In this way, the robot accelerates the rescue operation. It shares information from the camera or sensors on an ongoing basis, which may determine the course and effectiveness of the fire-fighting action,” explains Piotr Kurządkowski.

The project is still open and its author is already thinking about further improvements.

Adrian Andrzejewski