Fire-Fighting Robots
Fire-fighting robots of the future will patrol the hallways of office buildings and apartment buildings.
In office buildings and apartment buildings of the future, the hallways may be patrolled by fire-fighting robots. A fire-fighting robot would be much more than a fire-extinguisher on wheels. It would be autonomous, and capable of seeking out fire with the help of built-in infrared heat-seeking sensors and smoke detectors. The robot would be powered by batteries, and most of the time, it would stay inside a storage closet, where it would remain plugged in to a recharging outlet, so it's batteries would always be fully charged in case of an emergency. If a fire started, the robot would be automatically activated by the building's fire-alarm system. Then it would leave the closet, and drive around in the hallways,looking for fire.
When it locates a fire, it would spray the fire with a flame-retardant chemical. The robot would also be equipped with an oxygen mask, to provide an emergency supply of oxygen to anyone who needs it. It's not well-known that in most fire situations, many people are killed by smoke inhalation, rather than the flames themselves. Many people's lives could be saved if they had an emergency supply of oxygen. The robot could locate any people who were trapped in a hallway, and when a person was located, the robot would play a pre-recorded message through a loudspeaker. The message would explain to them than an emergency supply of oxygen was available,and would explain how to remove the oxygen mask from the robot. The oxygen mask could then be used to provide an emergency supply of oxygen until fire-fighters arrived. Fire-fighting robots like these may be mandatory in office buildings and apartment buildings in the future.
Anthony Ratkov, May 18,2012
