FireDrone: Multi‐Environment Thermally Agnostic Aerial Robot

Abstract

Temperature-Agnostic Aerial Robots The deployment of robots is often limited by environmental factors such as extreme temperature conditions. Building on the robot development paradigm of physical artificial intelligence (PAI), a novel drone system is developed that consists of high-performance structural aerogel insulation materials and a phase change material cooling system (see article number 2300101 by David Häusermann, Mirko Kovacˇ, and co-workers). This drone design enhances the operation envelope, allowing it to operate in extreme temperature environments, such as around fires in rescue missions or in glaciers and polar regions. [Image Credit: Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics, Empa.]