Equipped With Thermal And RGB Cameras And Heat Resistant, Swiss Researchers Create Drones To Help Firefighters

FireDrone while undergoing testing at the test site. (Source: Empa)

JAKARTA - Researchers in Switzerland have succeeded in developing heat-resistant drones, which can be used by firefighters and other rescue teams at building and forest fires.

"Usually if there is a fire, the question is, 'is there anyone inside? What is the structure like? And where is the source of the fire, the heat? This is something we can experience," said Professor Mirko Kovac, head of the Robotics Laboratory of Sustainability at the Swiss Federal Laboratory of Material Science and Technology (Empa), reported by Euronews, August 24.

Kovac said he was inspired by the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower in London in 2017, a fire in an apartment block that claimed the lives of 72 people to create FireDrone.

"I used to live near a tower in London. And it was shocking to see this incident and people ask me, do I have a drone that can fly in it and I don't have that," recalls Kovac.

FireDrone can map the location of the fire and identify anyone caught in the fire, as it is equipped with a thermal camera and an RGB camera.

Not only that, the developer said the drone could also be equipped with oxygen, gas, and toxicity sensors to check the structure, toxicity and heat distribution at the site of the fire.

Drones have been used previously to retrieve air footage, lift fire hoses in tall buildings, or drop fire catchment in remote areas to slow the spread of forest fires.

However, the drone currently being developed for fire extinguishing could not fly any closer as its skeleton would melt and its electronic devices would be damaged.

FireDrone developers use aerogel polymides, gas-made, non-liquid gels, across all important elements of the drone. Aerogel is very light and very heat resistant.

FireDrone also can't stay in the fire for too long, but it can operate at a temperature of 200°C for 10 minutes.

"We set it (aerogel) in spherical geometry, so that the heat shift is low. We have integrated a CO2 cartridge that can cool the inside of the drone, where the motor is also located," said Kovac.

"So the bike is not on the outskirts, but in the main capsule of the drone. And because of that, the drone can fly and operate very strongly in a very hot environment and is very hot," he said.

The research team said they are now trying to get FireDrones to be placed in fire situations that require a quick response, such as industrial facilities or factories.