The sensors on these robotics help emergency responders come up with a plan at a disaster scene. (Image Credit: FLYMOTION LLC)
Squishy Robotics has turned its robot from a space concept into a tech designed for special operations on Earth. It first started in 2014 when NASA gave the company a $500,000 grant for research. This involved determining how the robot moved in low-gravity or zero-gravity via gas thrusters, allowing the robot to jump into areas that humans cannot access. "We thought, wow, if we can do this on the Moon, we could do it on Earth and save some lives," Alice Agogino, director of the Berkeley Emergent Space Tensegrities Lab at the University of California at Berkeley, said.
Nowadays, this Squishy robot has participated in ground-based missions. Since it weighs less than three pounds, it can also mount on drones for air-based operations. That was demonstrated back in February when the drone inspected derailed propane tanks in Florida. At that time, it observed the air quality and found gas leaks, preventing a disaster from occurring.
A drone carries the robot during the Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue exercise in Florida. (Image Credit: Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue)
The company went ahead and tested its Squish robot in different scenarios to determine its resiliency. In one of them, a plane dropped the robot from 1,000 feet in the air. It was also squeezed inside a compact space under rubble, imitating a rescue operation with a trapped participant. On an impressive note, the robot survived a deliberate explosion inside a testing chamber. That didn't even stop it from recording videos and streaming data during those tests, demonstrating its durability and capabilities.
We can thank the robot's web-like structure for its robustness. Such a design ensures that forces impacting the robot are equally distributed across its body, leaving all the centralized sensors unharmed. Of course, that's the most important thing because those sensors capture and transmit real-time data to emergency responders.
With that potential in mind, the company interviewed 300 first responders regarding the Squishy robot. They provided ideas on how to improve it for rescue missions. With further improvements and optimization, the robot has a lot of potential as a technological solution for emergency response.
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