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Department
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First responders are briefed on a variety of urban rescue scenarios. The rubble pile was used with many different types of search and rescue robots. Photo by Brian Antonishek /NIST |
At the recommendation of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this month asked ASTM International to work with NIST and other stakeholders to develop voluntary consensus standards for urban search and rescue (US&R) robots. ASTM will disseminate the final consensus approved standards and test methods via its Committee E54 on Homeland Security Applications.
To assist this effort, NIST engineers, first responders, technology developers and robot vendors have begun to examine potential types of standards as well as tests needed to certify compliance to them. The comprehensive US&R standards drive, sponsored by DHS, is aimed at increasing federal, state and local officials' confidence in the emerging technology, spurring the purchase and deployment of the potentially life-saving devices.
Participants in a series of NIST-hosted workshops to define performance requirements identified at least 13 different robot varieties that may be applicable to search and rescue, from R2D2-type machines that search for victims within collapsed buildings to aerial ledge landers and aquatic bottom crawlers. They also counted more than 100 possible individual performance requirements in the categories of human-system interaction, logistics, operating environment, and system components (which includes chassis, communications, mobility, payload, power and sensing). Additional requirements are expected to arise during the standardization process.
The
project Web site lists the robot categories and specific areas of inquiry
at www.isd.mel.nist.gov/US&R_Robot_Standards.
First responders, robot vendors and technology vendors who have suggestions
for technologies to focus on or promising US&R robots to consider
as well those interested in serving on the ASTM E54 standards committee,
should contact Elena Messina
(301) 975-3235 or usar.robots@nist.gov.
The Department of Homeland Security has selected ASTM International as the development organization for the US&R robot performance standards. The work will be carried out under the E54.08 subcommittee on operational equipment within the E54 Homeland Security Application Committee.
isd-webmaster@cme.nist.gov
Date Created:09/23/2005
Last updated:
08/04/2008