DigInfo News
At the Tokyo International Fire and Safety Exhibition 2008, Tohoku University Professor, Dr. Satoshi Tadokoro, held a seminar about robots for use in rescue situations and demonstrated the potential of the Active Scope Camera.
The Active Scope Camera was recently used to probe into the cause of the recent collapse of a multistory parking garage which was under construction in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Active Scope Camere has a special actuator wrapped around a fiber scope so that the entire covering has motive power. Ordinary fiber scopes have a cable attached from the rear so they can’t penetrate very deep. In fact, conventional scopes can only penetrate at the most one to two meters. However, because the active scope camera itself slithers along the path, it can penetrate deep into the heart of the debris.
The principle behind the active scope camera is very simple. Essentially, the scope is covered in slanted hair like projections (cilia) that vibrate to move the camera forward at a maximum speed of 7cm per second. The scope can climb slopes of up to 20 degrees and can climb over obstacles up to 20cm high.
The active scope camera can be used to search for victims needing help by penetrating deep into debris to reach areas that conventional fiber scopes or rescue equipment known as bore scope cameras can not reach.
