Rescue and Disaster Robotics

Synonyms

Humanitarian robotics; Rescue robots; Search and rescue robots

Definition

Disaster robotics is the “consideration of robots for all phases of a disaster and for disaster science in general” (Murphy 2014). A disaster is distinguished from an emergency in that a disaster exceeds local resources; thus a structural fire handled by a local fire department is not considered a disaster, but severe flooding which taps into provincial and federal resources is.

Overview

Disaster robotics enables emergency responders and other stakeholders (e.g., insurance companies, transportation engineers, affected citizens, etc.) to perceive and act from a distance. A good overview can be found in Murphy (2014) and Murphy et al. (2016), which this section abstracts. These stakeholders may be unable to be physically present, such as the 2001 World Trade Center collapse when robots were sent into rubble through voids that were too small for people or dogs. It may be unsafe for stakeholders, such as...