By: Robert Richardson, Devon Hall, Julianne Rudmann, Matthew Lubaszka (ECE) & Christopher Graf (ECE)
Advisers: Dr. Y. Wang & Dr. O. Hernandez (ECE)
The purpose of this project is to design, build, and test a robot capable of extinguishing building and basement fires and effectively replacing a firefighter in highly dangerous situations. The robot will allow for firefighters to not only put out a fire remotely, but allow rescuers to scout a burning building before sending any firefighters inside. The implementation of this robot will increase the safety of firefighters and therefore help mitigate deaths from unsafe conditions. The robot will be controlled by an operator via wireless remote control. The operator will have visual feedback from the robot through the use an onboard camera with normal imaging and infrared imaging for low light situations. While the robot design will be as robust as possible, the main goal of the project is a proof of concept. The design of the robot has been separated into several major components: the mobility base, the extinguishing system, the frame, the base station, and internal control. Size and weight constraints were determined utilizing the New Jersey Building Codes and the weight of a fully equipped firefighter. Torque, gear ratio, and current load calculations were performed to determine components. Multiple design options were investigated for each component of the robot. The final designs were chosen based on effectiveness, practicality, and available resources. Ultimately, the robot should have full mobility on flat and inclined surfaces and have the ability to traverse a staircase. The robot should be able to fully extinguish a test fire in a safe a controlled manner, while sending visual feedback to the operator. A fully functioning base station, acting as a wireless hotspot for the feedback system, should be developed and the operator should be able to fully control the robot via a remote interface. All of these goals should be met while following the size and weight constraints.