Disaster management using mobile robots

Disasters themselves are not limited to specific parts of world, though certain areas might be more prone to certain specific types of disasters. Some countries are more prone to terrorist activities, some coastal areas are more prone to cyclones, some areas are more prone to floods while some other areas are prone to oil spills. Loss of human life and property are obvious consequences of disasters. However, the level of preparedness is the key element that can limit the extent of damage. Use of sensor network based technologies can enhance the level of preparedness and the ability to handle consequences of the disaster. This higher level of preparedness can provide a better control over the loss. A team of mobile robots can quickly set up a network of mobile sensors and actuators for rapid action. This talk presents an overview of applications of distributed mobile robots in disaster management. Applications which have human risks such as handling of nuclear waste, identification of location of explosives, etc., show the potential of use of mobile robots functioning as a group. Mobile robots have been used in search and rescue operation of World Trade centre terrorist attack and Hanshin-Awaji earthquake. In such situations mobile robots can enter voids too small or deep for a person, and can begin surveying larger voids that people are not permitted to enter until a fire has been put out or the structure has been reinforced. Robots can carry cameras, thermal imagers, hazardous material detectors, and medical payloads into the interior of a rubble pile and set up communication link with human operator using the ad-hoc network set-up by these robots. Each robot equipped with accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetic compass as sensor devices, can plan its navigational path with reference to each other and can get the sensor network dynamically relocated. Team of mobile robots equipped with appropriate sensors and distributed and cooperative planning algorithms can also autonomously generate maps for oil spill or radiation leaks. In this context obviously the protocol for coalition formation between multiple robots becomes an important issue. Formation Control strategies have been developed focusing on control and coordination for multiple robots that have to move as a group with user-defined relative positions, i.e., in formations for performing different tasks. In case of disaster management, with human in the loop, a new problem, that of coalition formation in a team consisting of multiple robots and human beings, needs to be addressed.