Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Pitt developing robots to help first responders
When disaster strikes, every second counts and there is new technology from Carnegie Mellon University that can help save lives.
Researchers at CMU are developing a new robotic technology specifically for emergency response. First responders immediately put their lives on the line in disasters, but what if a robot was the first on the scene to assess injuries quicker?
That's the goal of the Chiron Team, which includes researchers from CMU and Pitt and they are 15 months into a three-year DARPA Triage Challenge, working to create a fully self-reliant robot to help in mass casualty events.
"It is our intention that this will be fully 100% autonomous, not just the ability to move, map, and plan, but also the ability to gather all the physiological signatures, infer an injury pattern, and send that back," said Kimberly Elenberg, the principal scientist from CMU.
Thursday's demonstration simulated a plane crash and the system included two robotic dogs and a drone which work together like a high-tech search and rescue team.
The drone scans for victims in the air and deploys the ground robots to assess for injuries.
"We need to find the fastest way to understand what the threatening injuries are on a victim," said Leonard Weiss, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Pitt. "These robots can deploy quickly, can sense things that humans can't detect with their own eyes."
From disaster zones to industrial accidents, and even battlefields, this technology could be a game changer as human capability only goes so far.
The Chiron Team brings together experts in emergency medicine and AI robotics.
"The amount of support and the way that Pittsburgh leans into help develop technology is unbelievable," added Elenberg.
At the three-year mark, if Chiron wins, they will get a share of $7 million but for the team, they just want the bragging rights.
