Firefighting is a difficult and dangerous job, which puts humans on the front line to save life and property on a regular basis. It’s a prime candidate for some robot helpers, and [Ivan] has stepped in with a fun build that, while it won’t be serving in your municipal department any time soon, gets us thinking about the possibilities.
It’s a radio controlled robot with an Arduino Uno for the brains. A couple of motor driver boards are used to run four windscreen wiper motors for propulsion. Long before the days of online shopping, the wiper motor was a hacker staple – a cheap, readily available high torque motor that could be easily driven for a range of hobby projects. They say only 90’s kids remember.
As far as water delivery goes, this robot is a little short on credentials, carrying only 1 litre of water. However, we appreciate [Ivan]’s use of a Tupperware container as a tank – with a few add-on fittings, this could be a great way to hold water in other projects. The small DC-powered pump is controlled by an industrial solid state relay – a good choice for a robot that may get wet. There’s an onboard CO2 extinguisher as well, but it’s sadly not plumbed into anything just yet.
This build is an [Ivan] classic – big, fun, and 3D printed on a much larger scale then we’re used to. It’s a strong follow up to his impressive tank build we saw earlier. Video after the break.
[Thanks to Baldpower for the tip!]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=badfpajRI5Q
I have a Circuit Celler issue, (Wasn’t that what it was called? Can’t find it, but I know it’s floating around here somewhere.) bought from- Circuit City? I don’t know it was years ago, but it had an article about a firefighting robot contest. I don’t think any of them were 3D printed, or laser-cut. No Arduinos. I think there were Basic stamps, but I’m not sure.. Times have changed.
Do you mean the Steve Ciarcia’s Circuit Cellar?
Yes, on the cover was John Piccirillo’s Marv robot which won that year. That was when people were building actual robots and not calling remote control vehicles “robots”
I think It should work better with some kind of sprinkler instead a single waterjet. It should put the fire out faster and act as a heat shield that should prevent the thermoplastic parts from melting.
I was thinking more along the line of a foam that could smother the flames.
Sure it can! As long as it’s in Canso belly.
Last time I’ve seen firefighting robots, they sprayed both fire and themselves with water. With 3d-printing you can make your walls full of small holes and make robot “sweat” which could help with fire resistance.
I’m actually really amazed we don’t see more of such things. I have to say that fire fighters do have it down to a science and are about as effective as can be at dousing the flames. But, think of the many situations that they are exposed to that don’t deal with flames…natural gas leaks, overturned hazmat rig, S&R in confined or chemically saturated spaces.. Not to mention, just searching a burning building through the smoke.
In those situations you mentioned robots would either be useless or so expensive that no department can afford them. The tech just isn’t up to it.
Well, the ol’ ????is always a factor. I get that there are challenges, but it just sounds a bit weak next to things like humans spending a year in the vacuum of space. Fire proof safe plus roomba? Something just to drag the business end of a hose into the building? At the same time, I know the thrill of the fight is part of the reason for running into a blaze anyway, so there’s that.
A rover with good mobility and a small fluid tank would be really useful for agricultural weed spraying.
Combine a fire grenade to a simple vacuum robot, and you have it.