It is no secret that firefighters risk their lives responding to fires and other emergencies, putting themselves in the path of danger daily. However, firefighters also jeopardize their long-term health via exposure to toxic chemicals and other occupational hazards, leaving them vulnerable to an increased risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease as well as other health conditions.

Although firefighting as a career isn’t often associated with technology, many technological efforts are being attempted to protect those in these life-saving careers. Follow along with GlobalSpec to explore some of those technological efforts in this two-part feature. Part one will look at robots and tracking technology.

Robots

With the rise in the number of robots taking over tasks for humans, it should come as a no surprise that automating and outsourcing dangerous jobs to robots is a goal of many a robot manufacturer.

Vine-like robot

One robot being eyed for such a task has been developed by scientists from the University of California Santa Barbara. This firefighting robot reportedly mimics how plant roots and vines move toward sources of moisture.

To accomplish this, the 2 m long robot was composed of thin, flexible bags filled with a type of refrigerant called Novec 7000. The sleeve shaped bags were divided into 4.5 cm segments that accommodate the robot’s moves toward heat sources.

Model verification on a section of robot. The predicted shape is drawn in orange. Inset shows the infrared image of a similar test setup. Source: arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2301.07362

According to the researchers, as the robot moves toward the heat source, the segments of the device adjust themselves with the side nearest the heat source growing shorter while the opposite side elongates.

Resembling a segmented worm, the robot is encouraged to move by temperature changes when the refrigerant starts to evaporate at 34° C.

The researchers envision outfitting the robot with a hose that pumps water.

A ground-robot

A team of researchers at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid have developed an autonomous ground robot that could one day assist firefighters responding to emergencies in indoor environments.

Source: Fernández Talavera et al.

Developed under the HelpResponder project, the system is expected to reduce accident rates and mission times among first responders by enabling firefighters responding to a fire to better plan their interventions, and clear safe paths for accessing affected areas and pathways for evacuation.

The ground robot, according to its developers, supports emergency teams by acquiring environmental parameters in real-time, thereby revealing to firefighters, details about the environment before they intervene.

Dragon-like robot

A team of researchers from different universities in Japan — including Akita Prefectural University, Tohoku University and Osaka University — are working to develop a flying firefighting robot.

The aptly named Dragon Firefighter is a 4 m long, remotely controlled flying firehose robot designed to extinguish fires in buildings.

According to its developers, the Dragon Firefighter's firehose is propelled upward at 2 m above ground via eight controllable jets of water, which spout from the robot’s head and center. Meanwhile, the robot’s firehose can shape shift in the direction of flames via a control unit located in a wheeled cart behind the hose that is connected to a fire truck featuring a water reservoir of 14,000 l.

The researchers explained that as the nozzles spout water at 6.6 l/second with a pressure of up to 1 megapascal, the tip of the hose uses a conventional and thermal imaging camera to help locate the fire.

For more information on the firefighting robot, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Tohoku University.

Tracking technology

Emerging firefighting technology is not restricted to robots alone. In fact, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL) have developed tracking technology that enables firefighters to precisely locate fellow firefighters in burning buildings.

The technology, dubbed Precision Outdoor and Indoor Navigation and Tracking for Emergency Responders (POINTER) features a network of transmitters, receivers and a central command hub. Using magnetoquasistatic fields, the technology orients and tracks first responders in emergency settings as well as low visibility scenarios due to smoke and debris.

Check back with GlobalSpec soon for Technology for Firefighters: Part 2.