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SLEEK: Survivor Search after Structural Collapse

Team members

Anshiqa Agrawal (EPD), Vanessa Chia Yun Yao (EPD), Yu Yuan Hua Cindy (EPD), Chan Jun Hern Cawin (ISTD), Lo Jun Kai (ISTD), Seah Qi Yan (ISTD)

Instructors:

Ye Ai, Cyrille Pierre Joseph Jegourel

Writing Instructors:

Susan Wong

Teaching Assistant:

Congjian Lin

Search and rescue operations are time and labour intensive

It took just 3 minutes for this condo in Florida to collapse, killing close to 100 people, yet recovering all the victims took more than one month.

What if we could use technology to improve search and rescue processes and save more lives?

Gaps in current solutions

Complex

High-tech search and rescue devices require expertise to interpret sensor data received in determining presence of survivors.

Unreliable

Effectiveness of current solutions, such as search and rescue dogs, can be affected by weather or terrain conditions.

Manual

Existing search and rescue devices can be heavy and bulky which may pose an additional danger to rescuers.

How SLEEK Saves Lives

Sleek Movement

SLEEK is a soft robot powered by air pressure for pneumatic actuation, allowing it to navigate tight spaces within rubble.

A steering-reeling mechanism (SRM) is used for extending, retracting and changing direction when operating the robot.

Our robot achieves:

Life-sensing

An artificial intelligence-based sensor system mounted on the robot hears, smells, and searches for the presence of trapped survivors through the use of a microphone, CO2, and infrared camera data.

Intuitive Operator Interface

The operator interface allows users to view SLEEK's live camera feed, sensor data retrieved from within the rubble environment, as well as control SLEEK using a physical controller.

Semi-autonomous robot control

A human search protocol is built within SLEEK to assist users by providing them with navigational guidance - highlighting the direction with highest probability of human survivors.

Demonstration of SLEEK


Operating SLEEK


SLEEK Interface

 

 

Performance Testing

Durability Testing

Life Detection Testing


Media Features

We are thankful to have our work showcased in the media, you may click on each headline to be redirected to their corresponding article.

In collaboration with:

Acknowledgments:

We would like to thank the following people for their unwavering support throughout our project: 

Capstone mentors: Assoc Prof Ye Ai, Dr Cyrille Jegourel

Centre for Writing and Rhetoric: Dr Susan Wong

Industry mentors from HTX: Mr Ong Ka Hing, Ms Aw Rui Huan

Members of the SCDF Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team

 

We would also like to thank the following institutions for their research contributions on soft robotics that have greatly helped the development of our project:

Stanford University, USA
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
University of Notre Dame, USA 
Purdue University, USA
Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, South Korea
Korea University of Technology and Education, South Korea

capstone team photo w robot cropped

 

For more information, you may also view our project poster here:

SLEEK Project Poster

FEEDBACK

TEAM MEMBERS

student Anshiqa Agrawal Engineering Product Development
student Vanessa Chia Yun Yao Engineering Product Development
student Yu Yuan Hua Cindy Engineering Product Development
student Chan Jun Hern Cawin Information Systems Technology and Design
student Lo Jun Kai Information Systems Technology and Design
student Seah Qi Yan Information Systems Technology and Design

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