At the mention of "fire robot," most of us imagine robot firefighters will bring with them and send it to the very hell where no firefighter can enter. That is, a robot sheathed in armor that is not afraid of fire and flame. But there are other fire robots, or somewhat robotic fire complexes, installed in premises to extinguish a fire in the early stages. Here we will talk about them.
Such complexes are installed during the construction or repair of a building - they are the central staff fire suppression system. It is advantageous to install such complexes in large rooms with more than 5-10 thousand m2. and with ceilings above 8 m (although there are exceptions).
You can, of course, install other systems. But they have several significant disadvantages and are therefore complicated and expensive.
- Water and foam automatic systems.
First, the room is flooded with water or foam from the sprinklers on the ceiling in case of fire. The flaw is on its face - everything is flooded with water. Not just the fire, but the equipment, the things, the furniture, the electrical wiring.
Secondly, water (including generating foam) must be taken from somewhere. The water supply can be far from everywhere. Then you will have to install an excellent decoration of the territory - a capacity of a hundred cubic meters.
Thirdly, such systems create a significant load on the roof because of the numerous pipes. And on the ceiling, you also need to turn on the lighting ventilation and forget about the snow on the roof. That is, goodbye light and inexpensive roofing.
- Gas fire extinguishing units.
The meaning of gas fire extinguishing is to fill the room with gas and displace oxygen from it.
- Powder and aerosol systems are similar to each other.
They are independent modules that "spray" the fire extinguishing mixture. According to the regulations, again, it is required to evacuate all people before extinguishing. The modules must be hung at a maximum height of 6 m - you need to figure out how to turn them, and once a year, you need to climb to each one and shake (so that the powder does not cake). Yes, with the apparent simplicity of such systems, they are not cheap.
Fire robotic complexes, in other words, a device for supplying a jet of water or foam, can rotate around its axis and provide water up and down 180 degrees. An IR sensor is attached to the robot to aim the jet at a fire. Plus, a control system is in the form of a controller. Such robots can be installed both on the floor and on load-bearing columns, ceilings, or unique towers - to extinguish, which is convenient. The disadvantage of most robotic complexes is that they are stationary - they cannot move in space.
It is necessary to install several such robots. For example, for a 33x105 m workshop, six units are needed.
But there are robots mounted on a mobile cart. It moves between equipment and merchandise with ease. But what to do if the aisle is blocked? Where to get water for extinguishing?
This option could be implemented, but complex auxiliary systems (positioning, collision warning, docking) would be required there and ultimately affect the price of the robot.
The robot moves on rails.
The rails can be mounted at height or on columns on either side - no load on the ceiling. This has the following advantages:
- nothing interferes with the movement of the robot;
- the water supply is via a fire line installed next to the rails;
- the docking points are spaced apart.
The principle of operation is as follows.
The robot stands in the parking lot in standby mode in normal mode. There it charges its battery, automatic testing of components takes place.
A fixed fire detector detects a fire in the room. It transmits an approximate location (area) of the fire. After receiving a command to extinguish, the robot is sent to a given docking point.
As it approaches the location, using its IR sensor, the robot finds the exact location of the fire.
The docking process is simple - the robot extends its gripper. The pipe of the docking unit falls into it.
At the ready to extinguish signal, water flows into the pipe, and the docking unit valve opens. The robot starts extinguishing the fire.
In this case, you get "double protection" - first, the fire must be "caught" by stationary sensors, then it must be localized by the IR sensor of the robot.
Since the early days of robot development, firefighting robots have been a part of the discussion. There are many different types and designs of firefighting robots, but all share one common goal: to help firefighters extinguish fires in difficult-to-reach or dangerous areas.
What are autonomous mobile robots, what are their types and functions, you can read here www.autonomousrobot.club
