Robot team collaborates with human firefighters

The EU FT7 TRADR project’s aim is to build a team of robots that can collaborate seamlessly with human firefighters in a first-response disaster scenario, for instance after an earthquake or a fire such as the one at Chemie-Pack in Moerdijk on 5 januari 2011. Particularly for areas that are potentially dangerous for humans to enter, the use of robots can be of an asset.

The TRADR project uses both unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV); UAVs can provide quick exploration and high-level overview, while UGVs are designed to traverse piles of rubble and are equipped with a robotic arm to take samples. Three Dutch partners are involved in the project: Delft University of Technology is responsible for human-robot teaming, TNO Soesterberg is involved in user-modelling and the Gezamenlijke Brandweer Rotterdam participates as end-users to test the systems. In addition, there are 6 academic partners 2 fire-brigades and 1 industrial partner from various European countries. The project started in November 2013.