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New Italian Robots Capable of Detecting Fire Sources |
Italy has developed robots to combat fires in tunnels (similar to the 1999 fire that claimed 39 lives in the Mont Blanc tunnel), as reported by Italian news agency ANSA yesterday.
The robots were showcased at the European Robotics Conference in Palermo, southern Italy, on March 16. They spray high-pressure water jets at the hottest spots in a fire, utilizing thermal imaging cameras to navigate towards the targets.
Bruno Siciliano, president of the International Federation of Robotics and Automation and a computer systems expert at the University of Naples, stated that these robots can move along handrails installed above or below the tunnel.
“The idea to create these robots came to us after the Mont Blanc fire,” Siciliano said. These prototype robots are currently being tested in a tunnel in Pomigliano d’Arco near Naples.
Siciliano mentioned that both Italy and Japan are exploring new ways to combat tunnel fires and rescue earthquake victims.
Similar firefighting devices, akin to these robots, were first used during the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
TUONG VY
