Mimer - Developing a low-cost, heavy-duty reconnaissance robot for use in Urban Search and Rescue operations

Sammanfattning: Robots currently exist that are specifically designed for use in the wake of disasters to help rescue teams in their work of locating and rescuing individuals trapped in confined spaces. However, they are prohibitively expensive which limits their adoption and causes the operators to think twice before they're deploying a robot with the risk of losing or damaging it. This project details the first part of a multistage process to explore the field of rescue robotics with the aim to produce an Unmanned Ground Vehicle robot to be used in Urban Search and Rescue missions. The main purpose of it is to quickly gather critical data about the environment to help rescue personnel in their work. The robot is specified to be cheap enough to allow it to be considered expendable and not impede its usage in the field. It would also be designed to be rugged in order to survive the harsh operating environment with drops from several meters and to be dust- and waterproof. It would be equipped with a camera for navigation and a replaceable sensor module to allow it to switch sensors before being deployed. The project resulted in the development of a proof-of-concept robot that can move with a camera and a slot in the chassis to allow a sensor module to be implemented in the future. Additional suggestions for future developments to complete a production version are described in the concluding chapter of the document along with proposed project descriptions in the appendix section.