On the front lines of disaster relief, time is of the essence. The 72 hours after an earthquake, explosion, or other emergency is recognized as the "golden rescue time". If this window is missed, the chances of survival will drop dramatically. Therefore, how to go deep into the ruins in the shortest time, locate life signals and complete precise rescue has become a key proposition for global rescue technology innovation.
Recently, the CURSOR project (Coordinated Use of miniaturised Robotic equipment and advanced Sensors for search and rescue OpeRations) led by the European Union and co-participated by Japan was launched Launched a two-wheel drive rescue robot SMURF (Soft Miniature Unmanned Robot for Findings), providing a new way to improve the efficiency of disaster response. This innovation not only reflects a technological breakthrough, but also demonstrates the tremendous power of multi-national scientific research collaboration, which may drive a paradigm shift in the global rescue model.
1. Technological Breakout: A "Smart Scout" through the ruins
Weighing only 3 kg and less than 20 cm in height, SMURF is a miniature two-wheel-drive robot designed to delve into complex rubble environments such as earthquakes and building collapses. Its most prominent advantage is its strong obstacle crossing ability and perception system. The two-wheel drive structure is designed with flexible materials and can traverse irregular rubble up to 25 cm high. The video system integrates a high-definition visible light camera and thermal imaging equipment, which has the ability to penetrate low-light environments and dense smoke environments, and can still capture images clearly in simulated smoke concentrations of more than 1000 mg/m³.
Even more revolutionary is its sniffer chemical sensor module, which can accurately detect trace gases such as carbon dioxide and ammonia released by human metabolism. According to the field test data conducted by the CURSOR project in Greece, SNIFFER has an accuracy rate of more than 90% in the recognition of living organisms in complex environments. In a test involving 10 "trapped people" simulations, SMURF successfully located 9 of them and assisted the on-site team in optimizing the rescue sequence, improving rescue efficiency by more than 40%.
In addition, SMURF is equipped with a two-way communication module to establish a "life channel" between the trapped and the rescuers. Even when the communication base station is paralyzed, it can keep in touch with the outside world through relay signals and strive for more initiative for search and rescue missions.
2. Actual combat reform: from crowd tactics to intelligent collaboration
Traditional disaster relief relies on human foot search, which is not only inefficient, but also extremely risky. In the past, each rescuer could search an area of about 50 square meters per hour on average, and was often in danger of a secondary collapse.
The SMURF robot changes that. When working with UAV systems, UAVs can accurately deliver SMURF to high-risk areas and break through terrain limitations. After the robot enters, it quickly completes the survey and transmits back information, and the on-site command center can remotely view environmental images and life signals, and scientifically formulate follow-up rescue strategies.
In a simulated high-rise building collapse scenario, compared with the traditional 10-person team to complete the initial screening task in 6 hours, the SMURF and UAV combination only needs a team of 4 people to complete the search and rescue planning within 3 hours, and obtain more detailed environmental data, greatly reducing the risk of casualties and improving decision-making efficiency.
What's more noteworthy is that this intelligent collaboration model allows human resources to be released from the search stage and instead focused on key links such as rescue and medical care, injecting "efficient computing core" into the overall emergency response system.
Figure: Can rescue robots rewrite disaster rescue rules?
3. International collaboration: exemplary significance of the CURSOR project
Launched in 2019 with funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme, the CURSOR project is a team of research institutes and industry partners from Germany, France, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Tohoku University in Japan. The total project budget is more than 7 million euros, of which almost 6 million euros are contributed by the European Union.
The project is divided into several sub-module developments: the EU engineering team focuses on the optimization of the robot body structure, Tohoku University in Japan provides high-precision chemical sensors, and the French and Dutch teams are responsible for image recognition and AI data analysis systems. Researchers from multiple countries regularly organize remote seminars and cross-tests to accelerate the process of system integration and scenario adaptation.
At present, the project has completed several rounds of simulation and combat tests in Germany and Greece, and the performance of the SMURF system in simulating complex disaster scenarios such as earthquakes, fires, and explosions has been highly praised by front-line fire and military experts. The project has entered the stage of post-validation and technology promotion, and has the potential for rapid deployment to many countries in Europe and Asia.
4. Application Challenges and Future Paths: From "Laboratory Miracles" to "Standard Equipment".
Despite the initial results, the implementation of SMURF and the system behind it still faces multiple challenges.
The first is the issue of cost. At present, the cost of a complete SMURF rescue robot system (including the host, sensing module, communication device and back-end management platform) is close to 50,000 euros, which is still a high threshold for rescue teams in developing countries or places. In addition, the maintenance and operation training system has not yet been fully established, which restricts the speed of large-scale deployment.
Second, intelligent capabilities still need to be improved. In the current version, SMURF still relies on remote operation, and although it has certain path planning functions, it still needs manual intervention when facing problems such as sudden terrain changes and obstacle identification. In the future, the combination of AI edge computing and adaptive control algorithms will be the key breakthrough direction to improve its "unmanned degree".
However, the trend is set. With the continuous maturity of AI, 5G, low-power sensors, robot materials and other technologies, rescue robot systems are expected to be rapidly popularized in the next 5-10 years and become the standard configuration of disaster response systems.
5. Conclusion: Technology empowers life, and reshaping the rules is not a fantasy
Disasters are always caught off guard, but technology can be prepared. The SMURF rescue robot, developed by the European Union and Japan, has brought a structural leap forward in efficiency for the golden 72 hours, and also demonstrated the potential of technology to reshape the paradigm of disaster response.
It is not only a "robot that can pass through rubble", but also a new cornerstone of rescue that integrates global wisdom and cutting-edge technology. While there is still some way to go before fully autonomous, low-cost deployment, SMURF has taken a critical step. In the future, as more countries join the international coordination and promote the standardization of rescue science and technology, we are expected to truly build a set of intelligent, efficient and safe disaster response systems.
Perhaps in the near future, when the next earthquake or explosion comes, such robots can be dispatched at the first time and become the most reliable "life searcher" in the ruins, lighting up the hope of life at the most vulnerable moment of human beings.
