SpheroBot
Get right into the flames or cut a swath through flames on the ground.
Description
The idea of using ELIDE fire balls (see http://www.elidefire.com/products.htm ) was first suggested in this contest by Ryan Wilson. I liked the idea of initiating a mini-explosion of fire suppressant to kill a fire in a closed area OR on on the ground, but I had a nagging concern - what if the fire ball overshot its target, or simply rolled off too far (away from the center of the fire) to be effective enough? After all, even the fire ball demo videos showed a ball being lobbed into a *walled* enclosure, trapping the ball right there. Also, what if a fire happened outside regular work hours, and there were less/no people around to toss the balls? IDEA: The SpheroBot is a low-cost robot inspired - as you can tell - by the BB8 rolling spherical robot that has charmed us in Hollywood movies. This version is about 24-30 inches tall. The larger bottom (sphere) contains not only the mechanism for rolling the robot along floors, at a decently high speed, but also contains a large fire ball charge. The top "head" contains a smaller, timed-explosion fireball that the robot can toss up (or at an upward angle). This dual-charge allows the robot to fight fires that are rising up along walls or pillars, or moving along the inside of a ceiling, using the fire ball from the "head." One or more fireballs from the "bottom" sphere can be rolled out towards a ground fire. SELF-SACRIFICE! If (*IF) needed, the robot can roll itself into a larger fire and detonate its entire payload of fireballs, sacrificing itself in the interest of making sure that the fireball charges are triggered in the optimal location. The robot's thermal imagers and movement mechanism help it go right into the flames. The robot is programmed to detect a fire, on the ground/on a wall/or above, and roll itself briskly into position. When in automatic mode, it does NOT need to be controlled or maneuvered by a human operator. At the same time, it can also be taken over by a human using a smartphone app. For example, a human trapped by a fire on a floor can use the robot to roll ahead and clear a path through the fire - creating an escape route for him. ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS. A robot of this type, with its fire detection capabilities can also be a roving sentry against fires and "human mischief" during the nighttime hours (e.g. theft). It can automatically navigate itself to a charging pad (like a Roomba vacuum does) when needed. Unlike a flying drone, this kind of robot is not dependent on a trained human operator.. making this more useful for SMEs on a budget. As a roving sentry against fires, the SpheroBot is able to catch fires early, and to send an alarm if fire is detected. By interfacing with other installed fire alarm systems, it is also able to arrive quickly at any incipient fire that's been detected by any other fire detection system on the premises, and it can interface with other fire suppression systems for a synergistic fire-fighting effect.
References
For a fun video of a different rolling sphere robot, and how very well such a sphere design can navigate the ground, see https://youtu.be/1S5lUDvlu3A?t=46s