Scientists in Switzerland and the UK have teamed up to develop a heat-resistant drone that can collect and transmit data at close range at the scene of a forest or building fire, providing firefighters and rescuers with an important first insight. hand information.
At present, drones have been widely used in firefighting and rescue scenarios, such as taking aerial photos, hoisting fire hoses to skyscrapers, or dropping fire extinguishing agents in remote areas to prevent forest fires from spreading. However, these drones can only be flown within a safe distance of the fire. Inside a burning building, temperatures can reach as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius, and such extreme heat can cause the frame of an ordinary drone to melt and electronic components to fail. Commercial drones can only take pictures of the fire from a distance and cannot provide more information.
To allow drones to get closer to fire, researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and Imperial College London have developed a high-temperature-resistant drone called the FireDrone. They draw inspiration from nature and animals such as penguins and arctic foxes can survive extreme temperatures because they have a layer of blubber or fur to insulate them from the cold.
The heat-resistant drone uses a type of airgel, an ultra-light material that consists almost entirely of air-filled pores surrounded by a polymer substance, for its insulation. The materials researchers chose an aerogel based on polyimide plastic, which is also used by NASA to insulate space suits. For the drone itself, the scientists created a composite material composed of polyimide and silica, reinforced with glass fibers.
A prototype of the FireDrone has already undergone preliminary tests at Empa’s flying field in Dübendorf near Zurich. Empa says the flight characteristics and controllability of the roughly 50-centimeter-tall drone remain excellent after adding an airgel heat shield, an additional built-in cooling system, and an aluminum shell that reflects heat. The FireDrone has also undergone several successful tests at its training center in Andelfingen in Zurich, with drone operators flying the device directly into a gas flame in a large metal bowl. “Even after numerous flights, the FireDrone’s electronics, thermal imaging camera and CO2 sensor were undamaged and further tests could continue,” said David Häusermann from Empa.
Next, the researchers will further test the FireDrone in other fire situations. In theory, the drone could also be used in extremely cold environments, such as the polar regions and glaciers. The research team has already tested the flying device in a glacier tunnel in Switzerland to study how the system behaves at low temperatures. Currently, some potential industry partners are already in discussions with the research team to further develop the prototype.
