The rescue robot is designed to save lives and minimize risks during emergencies by operating in dangerous or inaccessible environments where humans or dogs cannot. It performs tasks such as locating trapped individuals, assessing damage, delivering supplies, documenting situations, and assisting with debris removal, this is all to enhance the efficiency and safety of rescue operations.
The mission for a rescue robot is to enter hazardous or inaccessible areas to locate survivors and provide real-time intelligence to human responders, thereby reducing risk to the rescue team and improving the efficiency of the operation. Key tasks include mapping the environment, detecting potential victims, assessing structural integrity, and transporting supplies.
Ground Robots: These robots are designed to move through complex, unstructured environments. They often resemble small vehicles or robots with legs, allowing them to travel over rubble and uneven terrain with stability and control.
Aerial Robots (Drones): These robots provide surveillance, search, and mapping from above. They offer a fast overview of disaster areas and can reach remote or difficult-to-access locations with ease.
Marine Robots: These robots, also known as unmanned underwater vehicles, operate in flooded areas or rough waters. They assist in search missions and can deliver supplies to places that are too dangerous or unreachable for humans.
The Rescue Robot Competition focuses on developing and testing robotic abilities for urban search and rescue in disaster situations. Teams are evaluated on how effectively their robots can navigate, detect, and operate in complex, collapsed, or hazardous environments.
In this challenge, the robot must move along a winding path on a white floor marked with black lines. It must turn right after detecting two black lines and turn left after detecting three. Along the route, the robot will encounter simulated house fires that it must detect and extinguish, demonstrating its capability to perform real-life rescue tasks.
– All participants must register under the appropriate age division.
– Each team must consist of one to three members and one coach.
– The robot must be designed and programmed by the team and must perform all competition tasks autonomously, without any external connection or assistance.
– Any form of sabotage or cheating will lead to immediate disqualification.
– The robot’s operating voltage must not exceed 12 volts, and all batteries must be mounted on the robot.
– External power sources such as transformers, adapters, or any other devices are not allowed.
– Each robot will have two sessions of six minutes to complete the required tasks on the field and may set up to two performance records. The best record will be considered as the official score.
– All participants must show respect toward referees and other teams.
– Any violation or unsportsmanlike behaviour will result in a warning or disqualification.
• The playing field includes tunnels and obstacles.
• Tunnel width ranges from 30 to 35 centimetres.
• Black lines on the floor are made of electrical tape, approximately 16 millimetres wide.
• Distance between consecutive black lines is approximately 16 millimetres.
• Turns occur about 5 centimetres after the end of the last line.
• Obstacles have a minimum height of 5 centimetres, and no obstacle exceeds this height. It is recommended to place contact sensors below 5 centimetres.
• The field includes 90-degree corners.
• Candles or heat sources are placed along the main paths, never across them.
• Candles are approximately 10 centimetres tall and positioned at least 3 centimetres away from the path.
• Candles are far enough from the black lines to reduce interference, but participants should still shield or calibrate their line sensors to minimise any effect.
– The winner is the team with the best overall record.
– The robot’s program may be reviewed by referees, so participants must be fully familiar with their algorithm. The robot can navigate any path.
– Black lines on the field serve as a guide only.
– The race ends when the robot reaches the finish point.
– Extinguishing each candle earns 20 positive points.
– The robot must activate its extinguishing system only when detecting a fire. Ten points will be deducted for each unnecessary activation.
– Robots with the extinguishing system always on are not allowed to compete.
– Knocking over a candle while extinguishing results in a 10-point penalty.
– If a robot gets stuck, referees may place it back on the main path after five seconds.
– If there are few participating teams, age classification may not be applied by the refereeing team.
- Reduced human risk: Robots operate in high-risk areas, minimizing potential firefighter injury or death.
- Reduced long-term costs: Robots help lower damage, operational downtime, and long-term expenses from large-scale fires.
- Emergency shut-off: Safety features such as emergency stop buttons allow immediate deactivation when needed.
- Long-lasting power source: Reliable batteries or onboard generators ensure extended operation during firefighting.
- Robust communication: Secure and stable links between robot and operator, possibly with redundant systems, maintain control in challenging environments.
- Visual cameras: High-definition cameras provide real-time feeds for situational awareness and precise operation.
- Obstacle avoidance: Sensors like LiDAR and ultrasonic devices detect and avoid obstacles in complex or low-visibility areas.
- Autonomous and remote control: Robots can be operated remotely and navigate semi-autonomously along pre-mapped or learned routes.
- Tracked systems: Offer excellent traction and stability for uneven terrain, stairs, and debris.
- Wheeled systems: Ideal for speed and manoeuvrability on flat surfaces such as roads or industrial floors.
- Legged systems: Provide versatility for climbing stairs and navigating unstructured environments.
- Heat resistance: Constructed from heat-resistant materials to prevent structural or component damage, with some models enduring up to 1000°C.
- Impact protection: Sturdy frames and internal shock absorption protect the robot from falling debris and collisions.
- Power and autonomy: Battery life determines operational duration, and autonomous navigation reduces the need for constant human control.
- Communication: Control systems must maintain reliable connections, even in signal-challenged environments, using technologies like 5G or mesh networks.