Communication and Artificial Intelligence Systems Used for the CAESAR Robot

Abstract

Robots are necessary for search and rescue purposes, to access concealed places and environments that fire fighters and rescue personnel cannot gain entry to. Three hundred and forty-three firefighters died at the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks in 2001 Often these rescuers unnecessarily entered an environment that had unstable structures as there were no live victims to rescue. Sixty-five of these rescuers died due to searching confined spaces that had flooded Rescue workers have about 48 hours to retrieve victims Several hours are lost when rescuers are unsure of buildings stability. After a disaster the structures are often unstable and rescuers need to evacuate until the rubble has stabilized. Frequently the rescuers have to evacuate even though a body part of a possible survivor is seen, due to unstable surroundings (Roos, 2005). Robots can stay in the unstable area and continue searching for survivors. In the future, robots could possibly also be used to access mines after an accident prior to rescuers workers