RTS Lab, based in Iran, has developed Pars, which is an aerial rescue robot designed and made for “saving human lives”. The purpose behind building Pars is to rescue people who are drowning near coastlines. The robot can quickly move towards people who’re drowning off the coastline by user guidance and then activate its savior system which releases life tubes. It can also be used for maritime monitoring, aid in firefighting, precise positioning and recording film from dangerous pathways for rescue missions. RTS Lab says that Pars uses new technologies that help guide and navigate it, these technologies include sound and image processing, autopilot, artificial intelligence and an array of sensors.
Many innovations have been applied to this method which make Pars quite a unique robot. It is waterproof and has the ability to land on the sea. It is controlled from a central control cabin, on ships it will be given its own platform and will be controllable directly through the ship’s control cabin. It is capable of making its way back to the platform through GPS positioning, where it charges its batteries. RTS says Pars is equipped with save three lives in one operation, but the number can be increased to fifteen by using chemical material for bloating the life pads. It has been designed with a FLIR heating camera and LED lightening, which will be of help during nighttime operations.
Amin Rigi, Saeid Talebi, Masoud Noroozi, Hossein Saffari, Majid Saeidi and Amin Mirakhorli are owners of the Pars aerial rescue robot idea. They had thought about finding a solution when they heard about people who had drowned in the Caspian Sea, north of Iran. They collected data which showed that out of 46500 people who had been in drowning situations over the past 8 years, 1100 had perished. The entire idea behind this project was to save human lives. Before they went ahead with building the robot, the sent the idea to the First National Congress of Savior Robots in Gorgan, communed by the Red Crescent, where Pars was dubbed as the “best idea”. An array of motors, sensors, control circuits, mechanical systems and microcontroller programming controls Pars. Rescue pads are released and controlled through several servo motors, which receive a signal from the microprocessor. The platform’s base uses small conductive blocks for charging the robot, charging is only initiated once the battery level goes below a pre-determined limit. In case Pars runs out of battery over the sea, it has the capability to automatically land itself on the sea surface.
The development of Pars, currently in its first phase, has been divided in to four phases. The first phase sees the robot ready to do rescue missions on coastlines. In phase two special abilities such as artificial intelligence and the ability to land on water will be added. Phase three will see a full prototype being ready for tests conducted in real conditions, any remaining kinks will be ironed out and it will be readied for mass production. Phase four brings marketing and limited production. Amin Rigi, Director, RTS Lab, has confirmed to UberGizmo that a new prototype is being developed and coastline tests will be conducted in the next few months.
Up till now the manufacturing of primary functions has been completed. All of the functions that it is going to have are impressive, but not all have been implemented. They say that they have used three-axel accelerometers and gyroscopes, GPS, Barometer and compass but the ultrasonic sensors are yet to be implemented. The team needs funds and investment for mass production. They claim that up till now all expenses related to development have been covered by the team members. RTL Labs pegs expense for industrial prototype of Pars aerial rescue robot between $30,000 to $40,000. No definitive word on the expected release timeframe and final price.