This firefighting bike is designed to aid and assist tunnel accident rescue missions





Fire incidents in tunnels can be highly fatal due to the limitations in reaching the injured – this is where a swift firefighting bike can mean the difference between life and death.

Highway tunnels and accidental fires are a deadly mix that we all wish never happens. The Mont Blank tunnel (between Italy and France) fire is a grave example of how tunnel fires can have fatal consequences – a situation that can be very complicated to take control over. The major problem with the design of tunnels is the limited access area due to the enclosed structure. The trapping of smoke, high temperature in a constricted section and disorientation is fatal for the unfortunate trapped people. Another problem is the inability of rescue vehicles to enter or exit the tunnel.

To get around this, designer Syu Wei Chen has proposed the design of an emergency operations station complete with a charging stand, foam cylinders, water mist system, and TUNNEL KEEPER bikes. The latter is equipped with a state-of-the-art water mist system and exhaust device to beam water particles to reduce carbon monoxide concentration in one section. This system expands the exhaust device to both sides to dissipate heat and dense smoke to improve visibility to aid the rescue vehicles and firefighters.

The firefighter bike is loaded with all the latest firefighting technology and HUD systems to keep the personnel abreast the vital information. Things like the temperature inside the tunnel, status of the equipment and advanced maps to accurately scout the disaster struck location in advance from a distance. TUNNER KEEPER comes with a detachable side stretcher to rescue the injured out of harm’s way. According to Syu the advanced firefighting bikes will be dispatched in groups to better access the situation and take proactive measures for damage control.

These vehicles will be electric-powered and charged at the station outside every major tunnel. I personally like the idea of the exhaust smoke system which sucks up the air from the front of the bike and throws it out from the rear to clear the area with dense smoke for better visibility to save the injured or trapped people. There’s another interesting bit, the foam nozzle is equipped with infrared rays to beam the nozzle precisely at the fire.

Designer: Syu Wei Chen

This thermal imaging drone could help firefighters quickly locate the source of fire in a building

I’m of the firm belief that robots should be assigned duties that are too difficult or dangerous for humans. Take for instance the Prophet by Marius Kindler, an autonomous drone that’s designed to monitor and assess structures/areas on fire so that blue light departments (firefighters, police & paramedics) can effectively carry out their protective and preventive measures. The drone comes fitted with a FLIR camera that captures a heat-map, helping rescue missions detect sources of fire or even helping them plot the position of humans who need to be rescued.

The tricopter drone’s design can be split into three elements – the propellers, a hockey-puck-shaped FLIR thermography camera at the bottom, and a removable/replaceable battery pack on the top. On-site, the drone can be programmed to run pre-determined routes and will constantly patrol a specific area, analyzing the structural fire to give the rescue team a clear idea of the fire’s source, the building’s layout, and possibly even identify potential safe routes for ingress and evacuation.

“Equipped with FLIR‘s thermal imaging technology it monitors heat exposure and the fire‘s behaviour over time”, says designer Marius Kindler. “Based on the gathered data it can identify anomalies and even predicts how the situation could develop in the near future. The system also makes it possible to link several drones together to a network, enabling all first responders to share their information, responsibilities and their equipment in a collaborative way during emergency incidents.”

The Prophet Drone was the result of a 10-week term project at Umeå Institute of Design in collaboration with FLIR Systems. Although conceptual, it definitely makes a case for how drones can be designed to help protect people and contain major disasters. The technology isn’t too far off, to begin with. Thermography cameras already exist, and autonomous drones are definitely a thing… so it shouldn’t be too farfetched to assume that human-assisting drones could soon be a part of every urban neighbourhood’s firefighting arsenal.

Designer: Marius Kindler

Using Drones to Fight Hi-Rise Fires

Putting out fires in high-rise buildings can pose all kinds of challenges. Beyond using sprinklers inside of the building, it can be very difficult for firefighting equipment to reach floors that are taller than the pressurized fire hoses. So the idea of fighting fires in tall buildings using drones definitely has some merit.

Recently, a company in China performed a live fire drill using drones they programmed to carry fire hoses.

The Guofei General Aviation Equipment Manufacturing Co. used a number of their industrial-strength UAVs to extinguish a fire they set on a practice tower in Chongqing, China. Each drone carries a tank filled with fire suppressant powder, and is connected to a skinny water hose tether. Using this setup, each drone can control fire in up to 100 cubic meters (~3531 cubic feet) of space, and can reach up to 200 meters (~656 feet) off the ground.

The demonstration video is impressive, though I wonder how effective this method would be for fires that are deep inside of a building. Perhaps they could break out a window and fly drones inside using remote cameras?

[via Geekologie]

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