In the last decade, the drone industry has developed remarkably and we can already see UAVs being used in many human activities. And now, researchers from Empa and Imperial College London are developing a new heat-resistant drone that can analyze the source of ignition in the event of a building or forest fire, allowing firefighters to optimize the strategy of an operation. high-risk before entering the danger zone.
Specialists believe that drones equipped with cameras and CO2 (carbon dioxide) sensors could provide important information about the distribution of fire sources, unexpected dangers or trapped people.
“Our drone is equipped with a camera and a thermal camera that transmit the images to the operator,” David Häusermann, drone researcher at Empa’s Sustainable Robotics Laboratory and author of the research, explains to Metro.
Today, drones are already used in firefighting, taking aerial photos, hoisting fire hoses over skyscrapers or dropping extinguishing agents in remote areas, for example, to contain the spread of forest fires, but only at a safe distance. of the focus
Near the fire, the drone’s fuselage melts and the electronics break, making it impossible to take pictures of the interior of the fire. So the researchers’ goal was to develop a drone capable of withstanding the heat and thus provide fast and accurate data from the center of the heat source.
Häusermann worked with firefighters to determine the requirements that a drone would have to meet in such a mission and found a material that could protectively surround the heart of the drone: the motors, batteries, sensors and electronics.
It is an aerogel, an ultralight material made up almost entirely of air-filled pores enclosed in a polymeric substance. In this case, the researchers chose an airgel based on polyimide and silica plastic, also reinforced with glass fibers.
“Laboratory analysis has shown that this comparatively fire-resistant material is particularly suitable for use in drones,” says Shanyu Zhao, an airgel researcher.
The FireDrone prototype already performed well in initial tests at the Empa airfield in Dübendorf, even surviving several test flights in which a gas in a large metal container was set on fire and the drone pilots directed their aircraft directly towards hell.
Metro spoke to David Häusermann to find out more.
“Firefighters naturally do not know exactly what awaits them and what difficulties they are going to encounter before going directly into the danger zone.”
Mirko Kovac, head of Empa’s Sustainability Robotics Laboratory and the Aerial Robotics Laboratory at Imperial College London.
Delivery of blood and medical supplies
In areas far from civilization, such as parts of Rwanda and Ghana, drones have been used to deliver blood and medical supplies.
law enforcement
Drones are already being used as first responders to access a situation that requires police presence, so command center officers can dispatch more resources if necessary. The Chula Vista, California Police Department has already used them for that purpose.
Search and rescue
Researchers at the University of Zurich (Switzerland) have created a foldable drone designed for use in disaster areas that can change its shape to fit through cracks and tight spaces, which could help make rescue missions more effective.
david hausermann
drone researcher at Empa’s Sustainable Robotics Laboratory
Q: Why did you decide to develop a fire resistant drone?
– Initial ideas came during the Grenfell Tower fire in London, when Mirko Kovac, Professor at Imperial College London and Director of Empa’s Sustainability Robotics Laboratory in Switzerland, saw the fire on his commute to work and was asked if any of your drones could help. In collaboration with material scientists from Empa (the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology) we then began to co-develop the drone and the high-performance airgel insulation material at the same time.
Q: This drone is inspired by animals, right?
– Yes. We were inspired by penguins, leafhoppers and arctic foxes.
Q: What is the main function of this drone at the time of a fire?
– Our drone can provide information from a dangerous area (for example, the fire of an underground parking lot or an industrial estate). Its purpose is to increase situational awareness before firefighters enter the danger zone. Currently, firefighters have to enter the area to assess if there is any danger, but the drone could do it.
Q: How hot can it take?
– The drone has thermal insulation made of polyimide airgel, a very light but high-performance insulating material. All heat sensitive components (eg batteries, electronics, motors) are protected from heat by this airgel insulation. The drone is designed to withstand 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.
Q: Tell us about testing the FireDrone in extremely cold environments.
– The insulating material is not only suitable against high temperatures, but also insulates the drone from low temperatures. During our tests of the FireDrone at a fire training center in December in Switzerland, other drones had problems due to low temperatures with their batteries, while the FireDrone had absolutely no problems with hot or cold temperatures near the fire.