Robot Help for the Fire Department

Fire fighters sometimes put their life at risk, for example to close gas leaks, by entering buildings that may collapse, or even to stop radiation leaks. A robot can help check out such situations without risk to human life. The Vienna company taurob specializes in the development of a fire department robot.

The taurob tracker looks like a tank with a retracting arm – it is just painted red instead of green. The carbon fiber housing between the tracks contains antennas and gas sensors, as well as a package of radio relays that can be laid inside buildings to increase the radio range. One color camera and one thermal imaging camera are installed at the end of the multi-segment arm. Further cameras and lights are located on the front and rear of the unit.

The tracks of the taurob tracker can be angled to allow the robot to climb stairs or traverse rubble. The robot can climb grades of up to 40 degrees. It is waterproof, and can generate overpressure inside its body. This allows it to be used in areas with a high risk of explosion, since the overpressure prevents any explosive gasses in the environment from entering the robot and being ignited by sparks. The housing is also antistatic.

Customized for the fire department
The taurob tracker is operated with a remote controller that looks like an oversized hand-held console with joysticks and buttons. It also has a touch screen that shows all camera views from the robot. The operator can zoom into any view by touching it. The levels of different gases are also shown. A 3D view of the robot shows what position the body and camera arm are currently in.

The Vienna fire department is currently testing a version of the taurob tracker.
taurob has also generated considerable interest in other cities in Austria, Germany and Slovakia. The founders of taurob designed their product specifically for their target market, Matthias Biegl, one of the two managing directors of the Viennese company, explained.

A promising niche
Together with his partner Lukas Silberbauer, he carefully considered in what niche there is a need for new robotics solutions. Silberbauer previously developed a mine searching robot at the Technical University of Vienna, and contributed the technical know-how to the project, while Biegl specializes in distribution. Through contacts with the fire department, they both learned that a robust exploration robot that is easy to operate would offer sufficient business potential.

The two presented a concept to a number of funding agencies. After arranging financing, Biegl and Silberbauer established the company taurob. Eight employees are currently working on the development of the robot. It is based on a fixed platform that can be expanded with different modules.

Control by radio and 3G
The platform is based on a remote controlled tracked vehicle with Windows-based software. The robot can be controlled with a laptop, a tablet or a customized remote controller. Information is exchanged between the controller and the robot by radio. The range is between 500 to 1,000 meters in the open, and considerably less in buildings.

Additional radio relays, as described above, or 3G mobile communication can help. This means that the taurob tracker can theoretically be operated from anywhere in the world over the Internet. Because fire departments generally operate in urban areas, the robot can usually establish a 3G connection.

Patented chassis
The taurob tracker moves with electric motors up to a speed of 8 kilomters per hour. The on-board batteries provide enough power for two to three hours of continuous operation. When the robot is not moving continuously, the batteries are enough to operate the device for up to six hours. The robot`s tracks are unique. Despite the one-piece chain, the chassis can be angled. Systems that allow an angle change normally use two separate chains. taurob holds a patent for the single-chain solution.

Radiation resistant
The taurob tracker can withstand a certain level of radiation exposure. This means that the device can theoretically be used in the event of reactor disasters like in Fukushima, for example to map radiation levels with a Geiger counter. Excessively high levels of radiation have a detrimental effect on the electronic systems of robots, however.

The waterproof robot can be easily decontaminated after use in contaminated areas. The fire department usually uses decontamination baths in such cases. The entire robot would be immersed in a tank for this.

Numerous uses
The taurob tracker also has the power to complete rescue missions. The manipulator arm has a strong enough motor to right the robot again if it tips over. The arm can lift up to 25 kilograms directly in front of the body of the robot. A manipulator arm module is currently in development. The tracked chassis provides the robot with enough traction to pull entire cars despite the fact that it only weighs 60 kilograms. In tests, the taurob even pulled people on a stretcher out of a danger area.

Matthias Biegl explained that the taurob tracker can also be used to carry loads for emergency personnel. For example, it can serve as a mobile toolbox by following fire fighters into a building. Thanks to the many potential uses of the device, the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien in Vienna has already purchased a taurob tracker as a platform for student experiments. Possible uses aside from fire department scenarios include military ABC defense and applications in the petrochemical industry.

But the taurob tracker is still in the development phase. The robot`s teething problems should be solved by the middle of 2013, at which point the robot should fulfill all the functions that its designers have planned for it. The taurob tracker competed at the Robotics Award last autumn for the special robot prize awarded as part of the futurezone Awards.