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Effective path planning is crucial for mobile robots to quickly reach rescue destination and complete rescue tasks in a post-disaster scenario. In this study, we investigated the post-disaster rescue path planning problem and modeled this problem as a variant of the travel salesman problem (TSP) with life-strength constraints. To address this problem, we proposed an improved iterated greedy (IIG) algorithm. First, a push-forward insertion heuristic (PFIH) strategy was employed to generate a high-quality initial solution. Second, a greedy-based insertion strategy was designed and used in the destruction-construction stage to increase the algorithm's exploration ability. Furthermore, three problem-specific swap operators were developed to improve the algorithm's exploitation ability. Additionally, an improved simulated annealing (SA) strategy was used as an acceptance criterion to effectively prevent the algorithm from falling into local optima. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, the Solomon dataset was extended to generate 27 instances for simulation. Finally, the proposed IIG was compared with five state-of-the-art algorithms. The parameter analysis was conducted using the design of experiments (DOE) Taguchi method, and the effectiveness analysis of each component has been verified one by one. Simulation results indicate that IIG outperforms the compared algorithms in terms of the number of rescue survivors and convergence speed, proving the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enable rescue robots to accurately detect human joint points in dangerous building environments to replace rescuers into dangerous scenes. A machine learning based human joint point detection method was proposed. Firstly, human joint detection data was obtained through Kinect cameras, and normalized methods were used to smooth and preprocess the joint data. Secondly, human joint length constraints and joint rotation angle constraints were added to the preprocessed data to generate the spatial positions of each human joint point. Finally, the Tsai method was used for hand eye calibration to obtain the distance between the robotic arm and the injured person. The experimental results show that the method accurately measures the position of the casualty joint point in the rescue environment of a dangerous building, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed detection method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural calamities are affecting many parts of the world. Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, earthquakes, wildfires, floods and all unpredicted phenomena. Disasters cause emergency conditions, so imperative to coordinate the prompt delivery of essential services to the sufferers. Often, disasters lead many people to perish by becoming trapped inside, but many more also perish as a result of individuals receiving rescue either too late or not at all. The implementation and design of a Receiver module utilizing Davinci code processor DVM6437, Wireless camera receiver, Zigbee Transceiver and Global Positioning System (GPS) is proposed in this manuscript for Wireless Vision-based Semi-Autonomous rescue robots that are employed in rough terrain. The receiver side's Zigbee transceiver module eliminates the limitations of tele-operating rescue robots by enabling the control station to receive GPS data signals and aids in robot management by sending control signals wirelessly. Half and full-duplex communication are supported by the Davinci processor DVM6437, a digital media fixed-point DSP processor that relies on Very Long Instruction Words. It includes an extensive instruction set that is ideal for real-time salvage operations. DVM processor is coded utilizing MATLAB Simulink. MATLAB codes and Simulink blocks are employed under Embedded IDE link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly discusses the development status, pain points and future trend of China’s coal mine robot industry. In the context of the “robot +” era, this paper expounds the development of China’s robot industry from the aspects of the number of robot enterprises, regional distribution, industrial park construction, advantage track, national policy, etc., and expounds the changes and challenges brought by the domestic Internet and manufacturing enterprises. This paper focuses on the analysis of coal mine robot technology and industry pain points, and extracts three major capabilities that coal mine robot should have to realize intelligence. Strengthening the construction of supply chain and standard system is proposed. The classification standard of coal mine robot L0-L5 is introduced in detail.

For individuals trapped in a fire, early detection can significantly increase their chances of survival. Presently, firefighters employ a systematic search method along the walls, ensuring a comprehensive and thorough exploration of the environment to prevent missing any trapped victims. However, this approach has its drawbacks, such as time wastage in areas or rooms without victims. The goal of this study is to propose a search method that can expedite the discovery of trapped victims. Our method relies primarily on prior knowledge, crowd information and the temperature within the fire scene, utilizing fuzzy logic to calculate the probability of the presence and survival of victims in each distinct space. The resulting search sequence not only accelerates victim discovery but also safeguards firefighters from unnecessary risks. We conducted various simulation experiments to validate our approach. In comparison to the sequential search method currently employed by firefighters, the experimental results indicate that our method reduces the time to locate trapped victims by 25 %. Compared to other path planning algorithms based on approximate optimization, our method offers a shorter computation time, making it suitable for integration into fire rescue systems to provide real-time assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]