Japan engineers have created a prototype of a fire-fighting robot known as the Dragon Fire Fighter to help handle disasters, according to Tech Xplore. The research project is a type of disaster robot created from the ImPACT-TRC Program.
The team includes members from Tohoku University and named the dragon after the hose, which resembles a dragon while operating. The robot is a total of three meters long and can overcome obstacles in order to extinguish a fire.
The engineers gave the robot the ability to have two unique features in helping firefighters. Firstly, it can help firefighters extinguish fires in hard-to-reach places such as high-rise buildings and large warehouses. Secondly, the robot can locate the origin of a fire using its thermal camera.
A special device with four holes is attached to the tip and middle of the hose, which ejects water and propels the robot through the air. The robot can be controlled remotely in order to find the source of the fire, while the operator can, at any time, change the robot’s direction.
“There have been robots in the past that go into dangerous areas in place of firefighters, but this is the first to fly over an obstacle and directly extinguish a fire,” said Satoshi Tadokoro, Tohoku University professor. “Researchers envisage the robot being attached to the end of a ladder or another object, and they plan to extend its reach to about 20 meters in the future. They aim to put it to practical use within three years.”