The new gadget, which weights thirty-five grams, could identify toxic gases in buildings that collapsed due the effects of earthquakes or explosions.
Detecting dangerous gases in collapsed buildings due earthquakes or explosions and identifying the presence of victims in places which are hard to access are some action scenarios of SNAV (Smelling Nano Aerial Vehicle), a nanodrone designed and created by the researchers Santiago Marco and Javier Burgués, from the Faculty of Physics of the University of Barcelona and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC).
A drone is an aircraft –civil or military- piloted by remote control. In this sector of technology, which is constantly expanding around its multiple fields of application, nanodrones are operational platforms which weight less than two hundred and fifty grams.
The SNAV nanodrone, described for the first time in an article in the journal Sensors, weighs thirty five grams and is designed to fly and identify gases in different scenarios to which other technological gadgets cannot access. It has nanometric MOX gas sensors that can respond to gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) or methane (CH4) and other organic volatile compounds (ethanol, acetone, benzene, etc.), with a detection threshold of sensors of the order of a part per million in volume (ppmv), according to the gas and the used sensor.
Different from other larger gadgets, SNAV is able to work in interior spaces –it can cross holes and cracks- and can work in large areas –about 160 square meters- where the chemical emission source is hidden in areas which are hard to access (false ceilings, air duct systems, etc.).
SNAV: from detecting toxic gases to rescuing victims
This new device would be especially useful in “rescue operations in collapsed buildings due earthquakes and explosions –SNAV can detect toxic gases and even the compounds unconscious victims inhale- and in a search for drugs or explosives in places which are hard to enter”, notes Santiago Marco, principal researcher at IBEC and member of the Department of Electronic and Biomedical Engineering of the UB, who led the new research study.
In these situations after an earthquake or explosion, rescue teams usually have trained dogs to find the victims. Therefore, the possibility of using autonomous robots in these tasks is an option to bear in mind in the sort and long term.
“Terrestrial robots used to focus the searching on the field of chemical signalling-based localization. Today, the option of using nanodrones broadens the ability and quickness of the robots to move within an interior space and overcome obstacles such as stairs”, notes Marco, head of the Research Group Senyal Intel·ligent per Sistemes sensors en BioEnginyeria (intelligent signalling for sensor systems in bioengineering) UB-IBEC.
How to overcome the effect of turbulences and navigation problems?
Limitations regarding weight and use of the nanodrone and the negative effects of turbulences of the rotor on the sensor signals are great inflection spots for the design and technical development of nanodrones like SNAV. To beat the negative effect of turbulences –which affects the data obtention process-, the UB-IBEC team applied signal procedure techniques that help obtaining useful information from the sensors in the SNAV.
Another critical point is the self-localization of the nanodrone in the action scenario. In general, the control mechanism of drones that fly big distances in open spaces is based on a GPS navigation system. However, this is not a viable option for devices that fly within interior spaces.
Regarding SNAV, “the new nanodrone has accelometers and gyroscopes that help navigation but without the expected precision for its localization. Therefore, this function is based in a series of six radio frequency transceivers –located in known positions- and a transceiver put in the same drone. This system allows us to fly the nanodrone to the position we want”, notes the researcher Javier Burgués (UB-IBEC), first signer of the study.
New algorithms inspired by animal behaviour
As part of the study, the UB-IBEC team of experts worked on the SNAV platform, calibrating the sensors and checking its functioning as well as programing the algorithms for data processing, communication and robotic navigation. Once the SNAV platform was created, all robotic navigation trials from SNAV were carried out at Örebro University (Sweden), in collaboration with the experts Víctor Hernández and Achim J. Lilienthal.
Some future research lines by this research team are aimed to create bio-inspired navigation algorithms to be based, for instance, on the behaviour of insects such as the mosquito or the moth. “Another line we want to work on is the merge of data from multiple gas sensors to increase selectivity towards certain compounds of interest. In this case, researchers would work on experiments in complex scenarios and with chemical interferences”, conclude the experts Santiago Marco and Javier Burgués.
Learn more: A nanodrone able to detect toxic gases in emergencies
The Latest on: Nanodrones
via Google News
The Latest on: Nanodrones
- Nano Drones Market to Experience Astonishing Growth | Players – AeroVironment, Inc., Parrot, SA JJRC Toy.on April 5, 2021 at 6:36 am
The Nano Drones Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% and is poised to reach US$XX Billion by 2027 as compared to US$XX Billion in 2020. The factors leading to this extraordinary growth is ...
- Flying A Normally-Sized Drone With A Nano-Drone’s Brainon April 1, 2021 at 5:00 pm
Drones come in all shapes and size, and [Kedar Nimbalkar] was wondering if the guts of a tiny Cheerson CX-10 nano-drone could take off with a larger body, leading to an interesting brain ...
- Small UAV Market Share 2021: Global Trends, Key Players, Industry Analysis Report to 2027on March 30, 2021 at 6:11 am
Armies around the world are procuring nano drones for a variety of military missions. Over the years, regulations on the commercial use of drones in the country have changed, increasing the ...
- Global Nano Drones Market 2020 Company Profile, Import/Export Scenario, Business Strategies and Emerging Market Segments to 2025on March 28, 2021 at 6:21 pm
Mar 28, 2021 (CDN Newswire via Comtex) -- The latest report entitled Global Nano Drones Market Growth 2020-2025 is an in-depth analysis of the global market on the basis of historic growth ...
- India: Drone Law 2021: New Regime, Old Problemson March 23, 2021 at 1:36 pm
Earlier, Nano Drones were completely exempted from regulatory compliances. However, going forward Nano Drones would be regulated (with some limited exemptions), but more importantly, manufacturers ...
- Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2021: Why Govt Refused To Allow Startups To Begin Delivery By Drones In India?on March 18, 2021 at 8:54 am
Nano drones that weigh below 250 grams have been kept out of most of these essential measures. Micro drones, that are intended to fly within 400 ft range are not required to have secondary ...
- Unauthorized drone use to invite penaltyon March 14, 2021 at 8:54 am
However, nano drones with a maximum speed of more than 15 metres per second in level flight or capable of flying more than 15 metres high and have a range exceeding 100 metres from the remote ...
- Food Intolerance Products Market Share 2021 CAGR Value, Size, Top Key Vendors, Future Expectations, Market Overview and Forecast Research 2025on March 10, 2021 at 4:15 am
Challenges and Forecast to 2026 Nano Drones Market Share 2021 Industry-Specific Challenges, Risks, Expansions, Opportunities, Drivers, Industry Size and Forecast to 2026 Tire Retreading Market ...
- Nano Drones Market Size, Demand, Scope, Share, Growth, Applications, Types and Forecasts Report 2027on March 4, 2021 at 4:18 pm
(MENAFN - GetNews) The study methodologies used to examine the Nano Drones market for the forecast period, 2020 - 2027 further classifies the industry by type, geography, end-use and end-user to ...
- Nano Drones Market Size 2021 Global Industry Trends, Share, Growth Insight, Size, Competitive Analysis, Statistics, Regional Forecast to 2026on March 3, 2021 at 2:11 am
Mar 03, 2021 (The Expresswire) -- Global “Nano Drones Market” (2021) report spins around the critical creators of the Nano Drones market universally with preeminent information, for example ...
via Bing News