Quenzel, Jan (University of Bonn), Splietker, Malte (University of Bonn), Pavlichenko, Dmytro (University of Bonn), Schleich, Daniel (University of Bonn), Lenz, Christian (University of Bonn), Schwarz, Max (University of Bonn), Schreiber, Michael (University of Bonn), Beul, Marius (University of Bonn), Behnke, Sven (University of Bonn)

Autonomous Fire Fighting with a UAV-UGV Team at MBZIRC 2020

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "Autonomy I" (FrA1), Friday, June 18, 2021, 09:40−10:00, Macedonia Hall

2021 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), June 15-18, 2021, Athens, Greece

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on May 7, 2024

Abstract

Every day burning buildings threaten the lives of occupants and first responders trying to save them. Quick action is of essence, but some areas are not accessible or too dangerous to enter. Robotic systems have become a promising addition to fire fighting, but at this stage, they are mostly manually controlled, which is error-prone and requires specially trained personal.

We present two systems for autonomous fire fighting from air and ground we developed for the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) 2020. The systems use LiDAR for reliable localization within narrow, potentially GNSS-restricted environments while maneuvering close to obstacles. Measurements from LiDAR and thermal cameras are fused to track fires, while relative navigation ensures successful extinguishing.

We analyze and discuss our successful participation during the MBZIRC 2020, present further experiments, and provide insights into our lessons learned from the competition.