Content area
Full Text
12
Fire Technology, 50, 14591481, 2014 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York. Manufactured in The United States
DOI: 10.1007/s10694-013-0356-3
Joseph W. Starr* and B. Y. Lattimer, Mechanical Engineering Department,Virginia Tech, 114 Randolph Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Received: 8 April 2013/Accepted: 25 July 2013
Abstract. An experimental study was performed to quantify the performance of eleven common robotic navigation rangending technologies and camera systems in re smoke environments. Instruments evaluated included two IR cameras, two visible cameras, two sonar systems, radar, a single-echo LIDAR, a multi-echo LIDAR, a Kinect depth sensor, and night vision. Small-scale smoke layer experiments were performed to isolate the eect of smoke visibility and gas temperature on instrument performance. Dense, low temperature smoke tests were used to evaluate instrument performance as the smoke visibility dropped below 1 m while the smoke temperature remained below 100C. Light, high temperature smoke tests were used to evaluate instrument performance as the smoke reached a temperature above 250C with the visibility above 5 m. Results from the tests show that radar systems and infrared cameras outperform the other rangenders and cameras tested for these scenarios. A series of large-scale experiments were then performed to locate objects in a smoke lled room and hallway. Distances from the LIDAR were subject to error when the visibility reduced below 4 m. Infrared stereo vision and radar could locate the distance to target objects immersed in the smoke to within 10% and 1%, respectively, independent of smoke visibility level.
Keywords: Fire, Smoke, Navigation, Instruments, Rangender, Camera
1. Introduction
Structure reghting is a dangerous job where environment conditions can rapidly deteriorate to high temperature, low visibility conditions making navigation inside the structure dicult. In 2011, 70,090 reghters in the U.S. alone were injured in the line of duty with 61 deaths [1]. Though the number of reghter deaths decreased from 1977 to 2000, the percent decline tracks well with the decrease in the number of res [2]. During this period, the number of reghter deaths while operating inside structures per 100,000 res increased from 1.8 to 3.0 [2]. Though structure res only account for one-third of res [3], 65% of the res resulting in more than ve reghter deaths from 1977 to 2010 were with reghters inside of large structures...