Researchers have developed a firefighter drone that can withstand temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Celcius.
The FAROS – or Fireproof Aerial Robot System – is a new unmanned UAV that’s designed to track down and map fires in skyscrapers in real-time.
To that end, scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology had to make sure FAROS was suitably flame-retardant.
And what better way to do that than by going ham on Korea’s latest super-drone with an actual flamethrower?
Check out the video below:
(YouTube)gPNRZi0EPQw(/YouTube)
Related: Best Drone Videos
Impressively, the drone manages to survive the assault unscathed, which is testament to FAROS’ hi-tech design.
The drone’s body is shielded with aramid fibres that protect the electrical and mechanical components from the fire.
There’s also a buffer of air beneath the fibres, which is maintained using a thermoelectric cooling system – this keeps the air at a specific temperature range.
The video test showed that the FAROS can endure heats of over 1,000 degrees Celcius from butane gas and ethanol aerosol flames for over a minute.
“As cities become more crowded with skyscrapers and super structures, fire incidents in these high-rise buildings are life-threating massive disasters,” says Professor Hyun Myung, of KAIST’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Departement.
Myung continues: “
To that end, the FAROS is also equipped with a 2-D laser scanner, an altimeter, and an Inertia Measurement Unit.
There’s also image-processing technology on-board, allowing FAROS to detect the fire-ignition point.
What’s more, a thermal imaging camera lets FAROS identify objects and people, relaying it to ground crews in real-time.
What do you make of Korea’s firefighter drone? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
