Consideration of the contribution of operating a firefighting robot system for large fires to prevent COVID-19 infection among firefighters

Abstract

A firefighting robot system has been developed to replace firefighters in dangerous firefighting activities near the source of a large fire. Firefighting activities at the scene of a fire are tasks that require many people working in dense, coordinated cooperation, and there is concern about the spread of COVID-19 infection. This paper outlines the firefighting robot system developed by the authors and discusses its contribution to preventing COVID-19 infection when the robot system is applied to firefighting activities, taking into account the new normal.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Firefighting robot
• prevent COVID-19 infection
• the new normal

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jun Fujita

Jun Fujita graduated from the Mechanical Systems Engineering Department of Kanazawa University in 1995 and received his master’s degree from the same university in 1997. Then he joined Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. in 1997, where his main work was designing and developing maintenance robots for nuclear power plants. He was also involved in developing disaster response robots and entertainment robots. He is a member of RSJ, JSME (100th Head of the Robotics and Mechatronics Division), and IEEE.

Hisanori Amano

Hisanori Amano graduated from Osaka prefectural University in 1988 and received a degree in doctor from the graduate school of informatics, Kyoto University, in 2004. He became a researcher at the National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster, Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Japan, in 1988 and has been the Executive Senior Researcher since 2014. His research interest is a rescue, firefighting, disaster response robots, and unmanned systems. He is a member of RSJ, JSME, SICE, ISCIE, and IEEE.

Kazunori Ohno

Kazunori Ohno received BS, MS, and Ph.D. in Engineering from Tsukuba University in 1999, 2001, and 2004. He was a COE researcher at Kobe University in 2004, became an assistant professor, a lecturer, and an associated professor at Tohoku University in 2005, 2008, and 2012, and has been a specially appointed professor at New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe) Tohoku University since 2021. He was also a PRESTO researcher (2008?2012) and has been a visiting researcher of the RIKEN Center of AIP (2017–2021). His research fields are field robotics, robot intelligence, and cyber-enhanced canines. He established TC on Data Engineering Robotics of RSJ in 2012. He received Kisoi awards in 2008 and 2012, and RSJ research awards in 2005 and 2019. A member of RSJ, JSME, VRSJ, JSAE, IEEE.

Satoshi Tadokoro

Satoshi Tadokoro graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1984. He was an associate professor in Kobe University in 1993–2005, and has been a Professor of Tohoku University since 2005. He was a Vice/Deputy Dean of Graduate School of Information Sciences in 2012–14, and is the Director of Tough Cyberphysical AI Research Center since 2019 in Tohoku University. He has been the President of International Rescue System Institute since 2002, and was the President of IEEE Robotics and Automation Society in 2016–17. He served as the Program Manager of MEXT DDT Project on rescue robotics in 2002–07, and was the Project Manager of Japan Cabinet Office ImPACT Tough Robotics Challenge Project on disaster robotics in 2014–19 having 62 international PIs and 300 researchers that created Cyber Rescue Canine, Dragon Firefighter, etc. His research team in Tohoku University has developed various rescue robots, two of which called Quince and Active Scope Camera are widely recognized for their contribution to disaster response including missions in the Fukushima-Daiichi NPP nuclear reactor buildings. IEEE Fellow, RSJ Fellow, JSME Fellow, and SICE Fellow.