Ghulam-Alazhar
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RTS Lab has successfully tested a prototype of its Pars aerial robot, a drone that flies out over large bodies of water to drop life preservers near drowning victims
Earlier this year, RTS Lab unveiled its concept for Pars, an aerial robot that flies out over a large body of water to air-drop life preservers near drowning victims. Like many design concepts, we weren't sure if this life-saving drone would ever become a reality, but it seems the Iran-based company was recently able to fund a working prototype and even test its capabilities in open water. Based on these initial tests, it's possible that this flying, GPS-guided lifeguard could be out there saving lives sooner than you think.
Over the course of four days in August of this year, the Pars development team visited the Caspian Sea to conduct a battery of tests on its brand new prototype. The location was chosen in part for its proximity to the RTS lab, but also because it's been the site of several tragic drownings in the past few years, including an incident that took the lives of six students this past summer. Among other attributes, the team tested the Pars' stability during flight, the accuracy of the life preserver release mechanism, and the bot's performance in both day and nighttime conditions. According to the researchers at RTS Labs, the prototype bot met their expectations perfectly.
The Pars was able to fly for 10 minutes at a top speed of 10 m/s (22.4 mph) before needing to recharge. This gives it a maximum range of 4.5 km (2.8 miles), making it ideal for emergencies occurring along coastlines and near ships at sea. It also proved to have a distinct advantage over its flesh and blood counterparts, since it can bypass treacherous waters with ease.
When conducting a trial rescue mission, the drone was able to reach a target 75 m (246 ft) away and drop its payload in about 22 seconds, while a human lifeguard took 91 seconds to swim to the same location. During testing at night, the Pars was also able to illuminate targets on the ground and make itself more visible to its controller on land using several bright LEDs.
RTS Lab has pointed out that the drone's fast speed combined with a capacity for several life preservers means it could attend to multiple people in one trip. With its built-in GPS, it can even be programmed to fly to a certain area, dispense life preservers to anyone in danger, and then automatically return to its base. Of course, the aerial bot won't be able to pull anyone to safety just yet, but it could be sent out ahead of rescue crews to provide some initial aid. The researchers are also hoping it could give emergency teams a birds-eye view of the situation and help them plot a safe path to where they need to go.
With such an important job on its shoulders, RTS Lab wants to make sure that the Pars functions as well as possible before attempting to distribute it internationally. The company hopes to refine its current design based on these trials and possibly add some more features, though it is still looking for further funding to make this possible.
Besides increasing its speed and range, the group has considered redesigning the drone so it can land on the water in an emergency and outfitting it with an artificial intelligence that processes images and sound to locate people in trouble. Presumably, if they receive the necessary funding, the designers may also construct an off-shore landing platform for multiple Pars drones, which was outlined in the original concept.
Until we hear more on the project though, you can check out the video below to see the Pars robot racing against a human lifeguard (the actual footage begins at 25 seconds).
Pars aerial robot delivers a payload of life preservers to drowning victims
RTS Lab is developing Pars, a robotic quadcopter that launches from a floating platform and drops life preservers near people in the ocean who are in trouble
Image Gallery (5 images)
If current technology trends are any indication, it's possible that human lifeguards could be replaced by robots in the future. So far, we've seen a remote-controlled rescue buoy and a salamander-like bot that travels on both water and land, among many others. Rather than having to cut through rough water to get to folks in trouble like many search and rescue robot designs, an Iranian research center proposes a quadcopter called Pars that launches from a floating platform and drops life preservers precisely where they're needed.
RTS Lab began developing Pars to address the high number of drowning victims in the Caspian Sea along the Iranian coastline. After creating a short-range rescue bot to help people near beaches, the team set to work on an improved model with much better capabilities.
The Pars design calls for a lightweight quadcopter equipped with a slew of sensors, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS, a barometer, and an electronic compass. It's most distinguishing feature, however, is a series of latches underneath that can hold and release life preservers one at a time. The most recent design can hold three tubes at once, but the developers claim future models could stock over 15 by using a chemical material that expands the padding after release.
An operator would be able to remotely control the robots manually or an onboard artificial intelligence could allow it to act autonomously in certain situations. RTS Lab says it has made a point of keeping the controls simple, so that a rescue worker could learn to operate them with just a few days of training.
The group also designed a charging station that would use solar energy to recharge several Pars units when they are docked. The designers claim the platform could be attached to the top of a rescue boat or offshore structure and could even be modified into a standalone floating station. In the event of system failure or low power, the aerial bot floats in water even without the life preservers, so it can easily be recovered later.
If Pars works as well as its designers claim, it could have quite a few notable advantages over most rescue robots we've seen before. For one, it could attend to multiple people in one trip, whereas most amphibious robots are only equipped to handle one person at a time.
Flying over the waves also allows Pars to bypass any obstacles or rough water conditions that might be inaccessible to anything traveling by water (or even full-sized helicopters by air). Though how it would handle in a violent storm remains to be seen.
The quadcopter could also be equipped for aerial reconnaissance, giving rescuers a bird's-eye viewpoint of an emergency situation and allowing them to get the proper equipment ready before they even reach the site of an accident.
According to RTS Lab, most of the initial design work for the robot itself has been completed and tested, though the current model does not include ultrasound sensors or artificial intelligence. Right now, the researchers are seeking funding to build an industrial prototype and eventually mass produce Pars to get it into the hands of rescue workers worldwide.
More information:search Pars Lifesaving on internet.
Pars life-saving flying robot is now a reality
Pars aerial robot delivers a payload of life preservers to drowning victims
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