Robot rescue: These guys go where human searchers can't
A bay area company takes its technology to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, to show a team where it didn't need to look.
By DAVE GUSSOW, Times Staff Writer
Published September 19, 2005
Mark Micire makes it very clear: His robot did not rescue any victims of Hurricane Katrina.
But it did come in handy.
"We saw inside structures that would not have been able to be searched by a human," said Micire, 29 and president of American Standard Robotics in St. Petersburg. "It's as important to find where not to search as it is where to search."
Many buildings were flattened, leaving no more than piles of rubble that rescue workers or dogs could navigate, Micire said. But some damaged buildings hung by a thread, where even a breeze might have caused them to tumble.
So risking a robot, despite a $40,000 price tag, is safer than sending rescue personnel into those buildings. And robotic technology has improved, much of it after 9/11, aided by the University of South Florida's Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue.
Micire was part of Florida Regional Task Force 3, made up of fire-rescue, law enforcement and other personnel, which was sent to Biloxi, Miss., to search for survivors of the Aug. 29 storm that decimated the central Gulf Coast. The team itself found five storm survivors.
The VGTV Xtreme went, too, all 14 pounds of it, loaded with a camera so searchers could see where it was too dangerous for them to venture. The backpack-sized robot searched two buildings that were unsafe for crews, says Ron Rogers, special operations chief for Hillsborough Fire Rescue.
For Micire, it was another step in the evolution of search and rescue robots for his 3-year-old company (www.asrobotics.com) His volunteer work in Mississippi got some attention, including a story at MSNBC.com, which comes in handy for a business that Micire concedes has sometimes operated on a shoestring.
"I'm hopeful we can keep this on the upswing so we can keep the doors open," he said.
While many consumers think of robotic pets such as the Sony Aibo, appliances such as the Roomba vacuum cleaner or industrial robots, search and rescue wants a different image.
"This is something that has a little stronger humanitarian undertone," Micire said. "We're trying to build robots that serve people, that really have an impact when we need assistance the most."
Micire was part of a USF team that went to the World Trade Center after 9/11, which was a major learning event for the robotics field.
"We broke every piece of equipment" in New York, Micire said.
"My master's thesis was an analysis of each break, why it occurred and what we needed to do to make sure it didn't happen again."
Current models have more ground clearance, so they can more easily go over rubble piles. Cameras are better, with longer zoom lenses so even the robots don't have to journey as far into a structure. Operator controls have been improved and are compatible with equipment and gloves worn by rescuers. The robots are waterproof, which makes decontamination easier.
"We had to hand-clean the robots very, very carefully because New York was very contaminated," Micire said. "It takes up time. You want to minimize time doing things other than searching."
Micire and three others started the company after graduating from USF. So far, the company has sold only seven robots. To sustain the company, it also is a reseller for cameras and other equipment needed for searches or inspections.
Micire's work with Hillsborough Fire Rescue, where he trained side by side with its crews starting in his USF days, gives Micire insight into the process and his company credibility when he says he has deployed with rescue workers.
"When we started this process, we were computer geeks," Micire said. "The fact that these guys even let us consume oxygen next to them was laughable at best."
Yet Rogers says the relationship has paid off for both sides. One, Micire was willing to volunteer. Two, the robots gave the department a unique tool.
"The stuff they brought (in the beginning) was nothing more than toys they tweaked," Rogers said. "Now they have equipment that's durable and flexible and stands up to the beating they take."
