Application of an unmanned aerial vehicle in fire rescue

Written by : Bin Hu；Jinpeng Xing

ABSTRACT: With the rapid development of social economy and the expansion of the function of the fire brigade, firefighting and rescue operations of the public security forces are facing huge risks and challenges, especially in the face of complex and changeable large-scale fire scenes. The problem of how to access fire information accurately and in a timely manner, and the rapid and efficient implementation of a disaster relief strategy have become an urgent priority. In this paper, the research status of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), its specific application to fire rescue and the future development trend of the UAV will be examined.
Keywords: Firefighting; Firefighting and rescue; Large fire; Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

1 INTRODUCTION

An unmanned aircraft vehicle is a kind of nonmanned aircraft operated by a radio remote control and a control device. It has the advantages of small size, low cost, ease of use, low environmental requirements, and the integration of a wireless image transmission system, with considerable autonomy, flight planning and image transmission capability (Eduard and Alex, 2016; Nijsure et al.,2016; KemperKoji et al., 2011). At present, commercial and military UAV systems can be divided into the following subsystems: ground commandand control system, UAV flight platform, aerialvideo surveillance platform, wireless real-timeimage transmission system of microwave, GPSnavigation and automatic driving system, highefficiency and high-capacity lithium polymerpower supply unit, 3G transmission relay link etc.

(Newaz et al., 2016; Jung et al., 2014; Lyu et al.,2016; Ortiz et al., 2013; Qian et al., 2013).Figure 1 shows the work principle diagram of UAV fire rescue (Yuan et al., 2015).

2 TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES OF UAV

Thanks to the advanced flight control platformand background video monitor system, with theperfect flight and ground support system, UAVcan be implemented as a comprehensive long-termair monitoring for the ground. In order to achievea lower overall cost of traditional means cannotbe involved in the region for real-time monitoringand auxiliary rescue, the intelligence and advancednature of UAV is reflected in such aspects as patrolpath planning, intelligent analysis, fixed-pointcontinuous monitoring, fire alarm, etc., and makesfull use of technology in formulating contingencyplans, establishing a rapid response mechanism,on-site fire archiving and forensics preventionmeans an important role (Marina et al., 2012;Namin et al., 2012). The UAV’s technical advan-tages mainly comprise the following aspects:

1. Flexible.

A small UAV is generally less than 100 kg, relying on flight control can be manipulated,only 1 –2 people can complete such operations.In the case of poor roads, traffic disruption, thefoot can be carried to the scene of disaster acci-dents, and take-off conditions is very simple, norequirements on the terrain, with unmannedaerial vehicles easy to carry, so the UAV hasstrong flexibility.

2. Vision comprehensive.

The UAV uses broadband, data link technology can achieve over thehorizon control, which has a very comprehen-sive view, according to the needs of the field,can be from different angles, different distancesin different light conditions to work. The UAVcan be realised at high altitude on the target ofoverall shooting. The distance and angle canalso be adjusted, according to the decision-making needs.

3. Easy to operate.

From a technical level, remote video transmission and control system of UAVand ground station access by the network inter-face, the operators of optical access network.Therefore, using only remote cameras and aux-iliary equipment (camera, PTZ etc.), you canwatch real-time video camera of the UAV directly.

4. Safe and reliable.

Whether in the face of heavy rain, high temperature, typhoon, debris flowand other severe weather conditions or fire,explosions, collapse, toxic and other seriousaccident disaster sites, UAV technology caneffectively avoid traditional fire rescue opera-tions in the presence of short board, which canensure the safety of the fire brigade.

3 POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE INFIRE FIGHTING FORCE

Combined with the actual needs of the fire fightingforce, the use of UAV can solve the following fourproblems (Zeng et al., 2010):

1. Disaster investigation.

When a disaster occurs,the use of UAV can ignore the disaster investi-gation, terrain and environment, and flexibilityto carry out the investigation, especially someof the difficult and perilous disaster site, theinvestigation team to carry out investigation ofthe case, the UAV can expand the investigationquickly. The use of UAV detection can improvethe efficiency of investigation effectively, andidentify the key factors of disaster accidents ina timely manner, so that commanders can makethe right decision, and can effectively avoidcasualties, both to protect people from toxic,flammable, explosive and other dangerous envi-ronments, but also to make a comprehensiveand detailed analysis of the situation on theground.

2. Monitoring tracking. The role of UAV is not

limited to disaster detection. In the process ofhandling the disaster, real-time monitoring andtracking by the UAV can provide an accurateview of the disaster. It is convenient for theheadquarters at all levels to grasp the dynamicdisaster situation in time, so as to make fast andaccurate countermeasures to minimise disasterlosses.

3. Assisted rescue. The use of unmanned aerial

vehicle integration, or the flexibility to carry keyequipment, can provide assistance in a varietyof situations. First, the use of integrated voice,amplification module to convey instructions.The use of unmanned aerial vehicles to conveyinstructions to the ground propaganda or direc-tive more effective, especially for high-altitude,high-level projects such as rescue, the UAV asthe carrier, which can convey the key instruc-tions effectively. The second is to open up a res-cue channel.

4. Auxiliary supervision. The use of aerial pho-

tography for high-rise buildings to achieve full real-time monitoring, timely detection of firehazards, fire scene real-time control, buildingfire inspection or on-site fire image storage, airsurveillance video access to other security orfire monitoring systems to support large-capac-ity long-term image storage and retrieval accessto support by the intelligent terminal remoteview and control some functions.

4 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF

APPLICATION OF UNMANNEDAERIAL VEHICLE IN FIRE RESCUE

In order for the fire forces to face the scene of theactual situation of disaster accidents, UAVs in theuse of fire forces should also meet certain technicalrequirements.

1. Reliability. All kinds of fire forces facing a dis-

aster site, especially a fire scene, in which theapplication environment is more complex, needto consider the wind, smoke, temperature, waterand other environmental factors. Therefore, theUAV must be able to meet the harsh environ-ment conditions.

2. Handling performance. The average speed of

UAV cruise is 18 km/h, which can be visitedin the range of 2 km radius, the endurancerequired to achieve single battery average morethan 30 minutes, the route inspection require-ments to achieve the continuous monitoring,and two inspections for clearance less than 15minutes. In addition, the flight altitude, accord-ing to research, most of the disaster accidentflight altitude of 200 metres below, taking intoaccount the maximum height of the building,reaching 300 to 500 metres altitude shouldbe able to meet the daily needs of the sceneinvestigation.

3. Stability. The UAV image transmission should

be clear and continuous, and the image of thewireless transceiver should have higher require-ments. Wireless transmission can easily receiveintereference; therefore, it is necessary to havesome anti-interference ability, so as to achievethe image in the process of use.

4. Integrated compatibility.

The application of a UAV in the fire force should achieve a lot of expansion functions, which must have goodintegration and compatibility. Therefore, in fullweight, consider the daily training and manoeu-ver requires the use of unmanned reconnais-sance aircraft equipped with the requiredportable or car arrived at the scene near theindividual into the mobile deployment site,emergency equipment development.

5. Rigour.

If equipped with UAV, there is an inevitable need for quality training of the operators,so we must form a set of training evaluationmechanisms, the formation of non-daily man-agement and use machine mechanisms and the operator will need training in these.

5 DOMESTIC RESEARCH STATUS OF UAV

Shenzhen City Corbett Aviation Technology Co.Ltd. is committed to the application of expertise inthe UAV industry and research and development,specialising in multi-rotor UAV systems and theirproduction, sales and service, with a number ofUAV technology patents.

An example of a fire rescue UAV product isshown inFigure 2.

The F6 UAV is a fire and rescue six-rotor UAV,mainly used for city fire emergency rescue, forestfire prevention and routine inspections of variousnatural disasters and secondary disasters, on-sitedetection, search and rescue personnel, deliveryof rescue supplies and other emergency rescuework.

The F6 fire UAV is mainly used for city fireemergency rescue work, and can be equippedwith equipment to monitor the implementationof the fire, to find out the high temperature firepoint, conduct a fire hazard survey, and look forsurvivors as part of the emergency rescue work, toreduce the loss of life and property.

Beichen Aerospace Science and TechnologyCo. Ltd. is a industry user UAV and applicationservice providers, products used in police anti-terrorism, fire rescue, fire aerial surveillance, aerialvideo, agricultural plant protection, wiring andland resources survey in areas such as traction andpower line.

BCA-Y4 is a vertical take-off and landing of fourunmanned aerial rescue system for the fire department to perform accident investigation, search andrescue, and other tasks, and can be carried out in light of the amount of rescue equipment.

6 SUMMARY AND PROSPECT

Based on the investigation of UAV use in fire, mon-itoring and rescue functions, the UAV has shownobvious advantages in a large space, large areas offire disaster reduction, based on its machine visionsystem and intelligent sensing system. With thecontinuous development of the social economy,the UAV will show increasing future advantages infire fighting and fire protection in city buildings,public places, and rescue of forest parks.