Design and Development of a Mobile Robot for Search and Rescue Operations in Debris

After an earthquake, critical tasks during the search and rescue operations are to quickly detect the locations of victims and recover them. Additionally, effective communication between responders in the field and the emergency management center is also important to provide successful operations. All these tasks are mostly performed by humans and trained dogs in dangerous and risky situations. In this study, the design and development of a mobile search and rescue robot are presented. The design criteria are determined based on operational requirements and stakeholder expectations. Considering the specified design criteria, the mechanical and electrical designs of the mobile robot are performed and corresponding control, communication, and user interface software are developed. Designed parts of the robot are manufactured and the system integration is done. Then robot functionality tests are performed. The test results show that the performance of the developed search and rescue robot meets the desired performance criteria. The developed search and rescue robot has great potential to provide an efficient way to reduce losses of lives by decreasing operation time and for getting accurate information about the situation of the disaster area.