A team of Japanese researchers has developed a unique robotic entity, modeled after "flying dragons," capable of potentially joining firefighting teams across the globe. The Dragon Firefighter, equipped to tackle fires deemed too risky for human intervention, now has its design plans officially published in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI.
The team has published the technology as Open Science (the movement towards making scientific research and data accessible to the public). The blueprints are now accessible worldwide for roboticists to freely use, enabling them to create their own Dragon Firefighters for the greater good.
Image source: Tadokoro Laboratory, Tohoku University, Japan
A group of researchers from Professor Satoshi Tadokoro's team at Tohoku University began developing similar flying robots in 2016. The team collaborated with Japanese firefighting specialists throughout the first and ongoing stages to understand their specific needs.
“We here present a prototype of a four-meter-long, remotely controllable flying firehose robot, engineered to safely and efficiently extinguish fires in buildings by directly approaching the fire sources,” said Dr Yuichi Ambe, joint corresponding author and an assistant professor at Osaka University, in a statement.
The firehose of the Dragon Firefighter is propelled at an elevation of two meters (6.5 ft) above ground level, relying on eight adjustable water jets in its central and head regions to generate force. A wheeled cart at the rear, housing a control unit, guides the flexible nozzle, which aligns with the flames. This cart is connected to a fire truck with a 14,000-liter water reservoir via a supply tube.
The nozzles expel water at a rate of 6.6 liters per second, with pressures reaching up to one megapascal. Integrated into the hose's tip is a combination of a traditional camera and a thermal imaging camera, allowing the Dragon Firefighter to identify and locate fires, thus enhancing its firefighting capabilities.
Image source: Tadokoro Laboratory, Tohoku University, Japan
The system's inaugural trial took place at the World Robot Summit 2020's opening ceremony in Fukushima in September 2021. According to a statement, Dragon Firefighter successfully extinguished the ceremonial flame, which consisted of fireballs ignited by another robot, at a four-meter (13-foot) distance between the 49th and 51st minutes.
Researchers have been refining the robot's design since receiving feedback from WRS2020. They found that the initial passive dampening mechanism, meant to reduce oscillations in the Dragon Firefighter's body, was impractical due to prolonged flight preparation time.
The study observed that heat from fires could cause adverse plastic deformation in the corrugated tube, used for outdoor applications, which holds both water hoses and electric cables.
In addition, the report mentions additional enhancements, including improved waterproofing, a nozzle unit that can handle a larger range of net forces, and a mechanism for channeling water flow, with further developments on the horizon.
The team predicts that robotic firefighting technology will be deployed in real firefighting situations within the next decade. For the robot to be able to perform its function effectively, its reach must be extended beyond ten meters (32.8 feet), and the researchers stress that addressing this challenge, as well as developing tailored firefighting strategies, will be crucial to its continued development.
