SMart rObOTs for fire-figHting

Informations projet

SMOOTH

N° de convention de subvention: 734875

DOI

10.3030/734875

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 21 Novembre 2016

Date de début 1 Mars 2017

Date de fin 28 Février 2021

Financé au titre de

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Coût total

€ 909 000,00

Contribution de l’UE

€ 513 000,00

Coordonné par

BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SMOOTH (SMart rObOTs for fire-figHting)

Période du rapport: 2019-03-01 au 2021-02-28

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

• What is the problem/issue being addressed?

In this project (A smart CPS based robot platform for fire-fighting), we aim to address the following issues:

1) There is no search and fire-fighting robot available for identifying the fire at the early stage;

2) There is no safe rescue robot available for rescuing the people on the fire ground;

3) There is no adaptable wheel and track available for entering the fire ground.

Particularly, a completing innovative design of robot mechanisms, sensor network and actuators, overcoming the challenges of wireless network communication technology and setting up intelligent decision-making system.


• Why is it important for society?

Through the implementation of this project, the following social benefits will be achieved:

1) Enhancing automation and intelligence ability and education (training);

2) Providing the basic theory and lab demos;

3) Training the next generation of fire-fighters.


What are the overall objectives?
The purpose of this project is to develop an intelligent fire-fighting platform based on Cyber Physics Systems, which integrates intelligent fast mobile fire extinguishing robots, intelligent walking operation robots and intelligent wheeled-tracked compound rescue robots, and develop an intelligent decision-making system capable of real-time interaction, dynamic perception and visual remote control with the field command center, so as to realize the real-time operation of the robot and the field command center. Communication and perception interaction can improve the intelligence level of fire-fighting robots in both the Europe and China.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

Work performed and main results achieved so far:

WP1: SMOOTH main networking activities
1. Project kick-off meeting on establishing 1st contacts between all participants;
2. 4 SMOOTH WPs in firefighting robotics where majority of ERs & ESRs are encouraged to participate & to present & disseminate their research outcomes.
3. All ERs & ESRs give seminars on a department or university scale, basically containing 3 aspects: on (1) latest development & advancement at home organization upon arrival of host organization; (2) progress made during stay at host organization at end of their stay; (3) knowledge gained during their stay at host organizations upon return to their home organisation.
6. Partners disseminate information on project through special sites/publications on their intranets & by attending EU & international congresses, WPs & symposia & by producing quality research reports & papers to be published in scientific press.
7. SMOOTH project web-page with a discussion board & links to all publications regarding project & a newsletter.
9. SMOOTH middle term meeting in June 2018
10. China match funds – started in January 2018

WP2 - Disaster challenges, requirements, & management in case of fire and rescue
Generate the two reports below:
1. Literature survey: Information in the literature survey and its contribution to the further development of the project.
2. Report on identification of key information required by the user: A report on identification of key information required by the user (Fire & Rescue team members) and key technological challenges confronted by the manufacturer (industries).

WP3 - Establishment of remote control, human-robot interaction & smart wireless sensor networks
Generate the reports below:
1. Report on remote control approaches on emergency responses;
2. Report on technical specification of high-bandwidth sensors;
3. Report on sensors deployment optimization;
4. Software of routing protocols for smart wireless sensor networks.

WP4 - Development of DSS & 3D virtual dynamic perception & sensing interface
Generate the reports below:
1. Method of the 3D representation on scene fire & smoke environment;
2. Report on technical specification for on-the-spot decisions;
3. Report on mapping between the dynamic database & specific decision;
4. User interface of 3D dynamic perception & sensing interface on scene fire & smoke laden environments for qualify fire ground circumstance

WP5 - Development of smart robot-assisted fire-fighting platform
Generate the reports below:
1. Report on performance analysis of portable autonomous robots & Interface Control Document;
2. Document on the design procedure of the firefighting robots.
In addition, we design 1) search and fire-fighting robot; 2) rescue robot; 3) control system framework; 4) wheel-tracked & swing-arm mobile mechanism; 5) rigid-flexible hybrid rescue robot.

WP7 - Training, Transfer of Knowledge, Networking, Impact
Conduct the tasks: Promoting the project through leaflets & other dissemination materials, webpage, social network groups, & publish the research 8 papers.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

• Progress beyond the state of the art: SMOOTH aims to explore the possibility to develop an intelligent fire-fighting platform based on Cyber Physics Systems which is currently not available. The platform has three parts: 1) physical part which covers the fire ground with robots which supports and assists fire-fighters; 2) back-end decision support part which supports and assists commander officers to make right decision at the right time; and 3) communication part which provides the smooth and effective communication between the physical fire-fighting ground and the decision making center.

• Expected results until the end of the project: SMOOTH will allow knowledge sharing/transfer among project international teams working together to address the challenges in robotics and its applications in fire & rescue and provide a direct benefit to researchers and practitioners engaged with the project through hosting and exchanging activities. We anticipate the following expected results: 1) Report on identification of key information required by the user (Fire & Rescue team members) and key technological challenges confronted by the manufacturer (industries); 2) hybrid wheel and tracks robots; 3) demo robots for Search and Fire-fighting tasks; and 4) 20 scientific research articles.

• Potential impacts including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far: SMOOTH anticipates the following impacts: 1) potential robot-assisted smart firefighting platform that can operate under harsh firefighting environments with wide and dexterous tasks; 2) novel interactive H2R and M2M interfaces, providing predictive capacity for the emergency responders; 3) decision support systems to support the decision making of ICs; 4) best operational practice informed from the research and subsequently adjusted by critical validation and testing. This will ensure that results are robust, reliable, practical and suitable for adoption both as a resource for fire and rescue service and as an origin of information for policy makers. The centre of excellence developed from SMOOTH and potential for long term collaboration with the Chinese top robotics research centres will give Europe the edge.

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