14 DAY TRIAL // SAFFiR is the name of a certain robot developed by the US Office of Naval Research, and is actually an acronym for Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot.
This robot is supposed to help human crews put out fires that may come about aboard naval vessels for whatever reason.
Finding the fires and navigating through hazardous spaces is not as easy as it sounds, however, even for a robot that does not need to breathe.
That is why Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute and spin-off company Sensible Machines created a micro-flyer. It measures 23 inches / 584 mm in width.
This flying drone would have the task of going forward first, fly through dark, smoke-filled corridors and locate where the fire actually is. All this without human guidance.
Once a fire is located, it can transmit the coordinates to the SAFFiR, which would then proceed to the area with all due haste.
Already a demo has been held, on the decommissioned USS Shadwell in Alabama, where it fit just fine through the 26-inch / 660 mm hatches.
The only problem is that the size limit demanded small propellers which, in turn, hit efficiency hard, limiting the flight time to five minutes per battery charge. Needless to say, Sensible Machines is already working on a new version: 16 inches / 406 mm wide and 30-minute flight time.
