Firefighting Robots Contest
Check this post out over at Roanoke Firefighters regarding a contest involving firefighting robots.
Here is the official website of the contest.
Why do they have this contest each year? Here is the answer (from the website):
The main challenge of this contest is to build an autonomous computer-controlled robot that can find its way through an arena that represents a model house, find a lit candle that represents a fire in the house, and extinguish the fire in the shortest time. This task simulates the real-world operation of an autonomous robot performing a fire protection function in a real house. The goal of the contest is to advance robot technology and knowledge while using robotics as an educational tool.
Even though they are using a model of a house and a candle to represent the fire, the learning that takes place can be applied to real world solutions. Eventually there will be robots capable of assisting firefighters in suppressing fires.
I wonder what these robots will look like and how they will function. Will they look similar to existing bomb squad robots? Will we borrow ideas from military robots that are under development now? Will we use just one or two large robots or will we use a whole fleet of smaller robots? When will these robots be affordable for the average family to purchase to provide protection in their homes?
