Prototyping of a Robotic Fire Vehicle Using Radio Frequency Technology

Abstract

Fighting a raging fire is one of the toughest uphill battles in the public – safety world. Fire fighters try to put off fires with very little information, having no idea of the size and scope of the fire nor how many potential victims may be cut off from rescue (Na Gabbert, 2012). Fire losses throughout the world remain too high and firefighting too hazardous. This work aims to mitigate these losses via the prototyping of a robotic fire vehicle using radio frequency technology. The primary research method for this study is the literature review of the various types of limitation in existing firefighting systems and models, from the review carried out an improved firefighting robotic system was designed and built. The vehicle is loaded with a water carrying bottle. Two DC motors alongside a castor wheel are used for the locomotion and drive system of the robot, a DC water pump is used to spray jets of water through its suction action. These motors are controlled from a distance over a wireless communication between the Bluetooth HC-06 and a motor control app installed on an android phone. The Robot is programmed to stop and release sprinkles of water before the robot hits the target. An Arduino microcontroller is used for the overall desired operation. The entire system is powered by a 12V Lead – acid rechargeable battery. The robot has a dimension of 0.37 m by 0.28 m by 0.12 m and navigates through a modeled floor plan with an average velocity of 0.05 m/s to extinguish a simulated fire in 5 to 10 seconds. Experimental work has been carried out carefully and successfully, the proposed technique is confirmed to be very useful for engineering, research and safety purposes.