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A Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot for the U.S. Navy

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory, along with researchers from Virginia Tech and University of Pennsylvania, have been developing a humanoid, firefighting robot called the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR). The robot is being designed to move autonomously throughout the ship, interact with people, and fight fires - handling many of the dangerous firefighting tasks that are normally performed by humans. The robot should be able to maneuver well in the narrow passages and ladderways that are unique to a ship and challenging for older, simpler robots to navigate. It is being designed with enhanced multi-modal sensor technology for advanced navigation and a sensor suite that includes a camera, gas sensor, and stereo IR camera to enable it to see through smoke. Its upper body will be capable of manipulating fire suppressors and throwing propelled extinguishing agent technology (PEAT) grenades. Battery-powered, the robot holds enough energy for 30 minutes of firefighting. It will also be capable of walking in all directions, balancing in sea conditions, and traversing obstacles.

Topics:
Automation Batteries Cameras Defense Imaging Motion Control Power Robotics Sensors

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    Transcript

    00:00:04 This is the future. I mean this is every science fiction geeks dream, right? We have a humanoid six-foot tall robot walking around. We’re working under a grant for the Navy, and the robot we developed for this project –S.A.F.F.iR. - uh, is one of the most advanced robots in the world. Uh and we’re very excited to be doing something else no one has done with robots, so we’re taking the robots out of laboratory and we’re actually putting it in a real environment, such as the USS Shadwell. There are all sorts of challenges involved when you take robots out of the laboratory – There’s smoke, there’s heat, we are by no means done. There is so much more to do to make these practical that the Navy’s going to be really

    00:01:04 going to be able to use. Don’t think it’s going to replace you; it’s going to assist you. Every Sailor is trained as a fire fighter, but that’s not their expertise that’s not what they’re doing every day. So if you think about the support the Navy provided in the Haiti Earthquake, well this robot, you’ll be able to send it into dangerous situations without having to send a Sailor in there first. What we’re seeing here is something we’ve never done before. We’re extinguishing a fire with a robot dressed in a tracksuit. So we hope we can keep pushing the technology with the help of ONR and stay at the fore front of robotics research.