Hazard Hunter: A Low Cost Search and Rescue Robot

Abstract

Rescue operations are among the most vital pillars of disaster management. The duties associated with rescue operations or monitoring in such situations are exceedingly risky. Besides, human participation in such endeavors is invariably hazardous. As a result, as the probability of human error and the need for manual labor diminished, robot involvement gained importance. On the contrary, before human rescue teams embrace robotic assistance, individuals must be confident that it will benefit them rather than hinder them. Considering these issues, an affordable search and rescue robot (SARR) ‘Hazard Hunter’ is proposed and designed to suit developing nations like Bangladesh. This robot is cheap and straightforward to build from common components. Human rescuers may easily exploit the robot's information without any robotic expertise. One notable benefit of this robot is that it can perform remote operations via a wireless way. Sensors, along with a camera module, are incorporated into the design of the automaton to provide real-time information about the terrain around it and enable adequate surveillance. As required, the user may add or remove sensors and access those sensor's readings via web-based monitoring. The development of a user-friendly IP address-based webpage accomplishes the movement of the robot and the acquisition of sensor data for environmental monitoring. It provides continuous thermal, visual, and ambient sensory data from the catastrophe site to the online dashboard. It can also find live people amid debris and communicate with rescuers. The proposed rescue robot has undergone extensive experiments and performance-based evaluation. It will effectively carry out its responsibilities in any critical circumstance.