Research groups such as Kyoto University and Tohoku University have developed a snake-shaped robot that can hear the small voices of survivors left behind under a building that collapsed due to an earthquake.It seems to be very useful for disaster relief, which is worried about the occurrence of an earthquake directly under the capital or a huge Nankai Trough earthquake in the near future.
According to Kyoto University, this robot is a hose type with a length of about 10 meters.An active scope camera is attached to the tip, allowing it to penetrate into narrow gaps of several centimeters, and to move like a snake while checking the condition inside the rubble.It is also equipped with multiple special ultra-small microphones, and uses the latest voice extraction and emphasis technology to make it possible to distinguish the small voices of survivors even in noisy search sites.
At the search site for buildings that collapsed due to the disaster, noise often drowned out the voices of survivors.Even if a robot was used, it was predicted that the noise generated by the vibration of the robot would interfere with the search for survivors.Based on a field survey of the Kumamoto earthquake, the research group reproduced and examined the debris of a collapsed house, and found that they were able to actually pick up a very quiet voice.
It is generally said that it takes less than 72 hours to find a survivor at a disaster site.The research group will continue to improve its performance and aim to put it into practical use as a disaster relief system.This research is being carried out as part of the Innovative R & D Promotion Program of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation of the Cabinet Office, with the participation of Kyoto University, Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, Tsukuba University, Waseda University, and the National Institute of Informatics. There is.
