A-DRZ

Emergency services face a variety of challenges in their daily work. Despite training, tactical concepts and protective equipment, thousands of emergency personnel worldwide are injured or killed every year. As technical development progresses, it is foreseeable that mobile robotic systems will take over tasks to make operations more efficient and, above all, safer. The requirements for the supporting rescue robot systems are complex and varied.

The "Development of the German Rescue Robotics Center" (A-DRZ) project is driving forward the use of robotic systems in civil terrestrial emergency response in hostile environments. This is based on the four main scenarios of fire, collapse & burial, detection of hazardous substances and flooding, as well as the resulting challenges for rescue robotics. Among other things, a so-called Living Lab, i.e. a laboratory with an attached test site, is being set up for this purpose, in which researchers, companies and users can jointly research the best possible solutions for supporting rescue robots and test them in realistic test environments.

The implementation of the A-DRZ will create a national competence center with international appeal. For the first time in Germany, emergency services, researchers and industry will work on the realization of autonomous rescue robots and the establishment of a national and international robotics task force. In addition, test and inspection criteria will be developed to ensure the subsequent standardization and certification of different robot systems.

Fachhochschule Dortmund is involved in the joint project with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and IDiAL. The focus of the research work is on the new development of operational mobile ground robots that can detect and extinguish fires. Operating conditions that are hazardous to humans, such as smoke and heat, pose particular challenges for the development of mechanics, sensor technology and navigation procedures. Both the mechatronic requirements (machine and vehicle development) and the algorithms and control software modules (IDiAL) for the robot systems are defined and developed, and new methods and concepts are researched holistically. Before new robot systems are developed, the requirements are defined together with the application partners as part of the modularization concepts for robot platforms and payload modules. Furthermore, the autonomous assistance functions required to control the mobile robots are developed and implemented in a self-developed demonstrator. The sustainable design of academic support for young talent and application-oriented training is another aspect of the project.