A team of researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria has developed a four-legged robot dog that is capable of detecting toxic substances.
Designed to one day function as a first responder that is sent into dangerous areas or to potentially help firefighting crews assess damage without risk to humans, the remote-controlled detection robot is a quadruped system that also features an assortment of measurement devices.
Source: Lunghammer/TU Graz
The team explained that the robotic dog can be sent into a structure ahead of firefighters in the event of a fire where it collects data from the scene or during chemical accidents, for instance, where emergency crews would need to identify hazardous substances rapidly while simultaneously operating under dangerous conditions.
When deployed on missions ahead of firefighting crews, the team noted: “It measures pollutant concentrations and delivers the data together with a camera image in real time from the danger zone.”
The team suggests that the robot could assess a situation before humans enter danger zones, thereby reducing the firefighters’ direct exposure to toxic substances or fire, for instance, the team explained in a statement.
