Designed to resemble a “flying dragon,” this robot was created to tackle fires that are considered too dangerous for human firefighters to confront. The design of the aerial fire hose robot, called Dragon Firefighter, has just been officially announced in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI.
A team of researchers from Professor Satoshi Tadokoro's lab at Tohoku University initiated the development of this robot project. According to the researchers, during the preliminary stages of development, the team collaborated with Japanese firefighting experts to gain a better understanding.
A team of researchers in Japan has created an advanced “Dragon Firefighter” robot design, a remote-controlled flying fire hose that aims to fight fires more safely and effectively. (Photo: Tohoku University)
“The remote-controlled flying dragon fire hose robot prototype is 4 meters long and is designed to extinguish fires in buildings safely and effectively, by directly approaching the fire sources,” said Dr. Yuichi Ambe, co-author of the project at Tohoku University.
The Dragon Firefighter pressurizes eight adjustable water jets in the centre and tip of the design. The nozzle configuration is flexible, allowing it to adapt and align with the direction of the fire, guided by a controller located on a wheeled trolley at the rear. This trolley is linked to a fire engine equipped with a large 14,000 litre water tank via a dedicated water supply hose.
Operating at a rate of 6.6 liters per second, the nozzles spray water at a pressure of up to 1 megapascal (MPa). The nozzle tip is integrated with a traditional camera and a thermal imaging camera, which facilitates fire identification and location. According to the research team, this technological integration enhances the Dragon Firefighter's firefighting capabilities.
Further design improvements are currently underway, including enhancing the ability to handle more net force on the nozzle, as well as improving the water flow mechanism. “We estimate it will take about 10 years to deploy this robot in real-life firefighting situations,” said Dr. Ambe. “The main challenge will be to extend the hose design to more than 10 meters.”
HUYNH DUNG (Source: Interestingengineering/Saipantribune)
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