2023-07-01 09:30:59
The FireDrone can pass through a wall of flames and its shell allows its components to withstand temperatures of up to 200 degrees. To achieve this, the scientists who developed it were inspired by nature.
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Firefighters now use drones to observe the evolution of fires, and for many other rescue missions. What drones don’t yet do is rush inside a burning building to help firefighters plan their response more efficiently and safely.
A team of scientists of the’Imperial College of London and the Swiss research institute Empa has found a way to create an experimental quadcopter drone capable of resisting flames. Their prototype FireDrone can hold in the air, without flinching, while undergoing a temperature of up to 200 degrees for about ten minutes.
So that the aircraft can withstand these high temperatures, the researchers took inspiration from nature and more specifically from animals such as the penguin, the arctic fox, the arctic fox or the spitting beetle. They all have the capacity to be able to live in extreme temperatures. To protect them, nature has provided them with fur, layers of fat or other layers of thermoregulatory protection.
The FireDrone in action. The drone was able to cross a wall of flames without incident. © Empa
A bio-inspired drone
To protect the heart of the drone, they therefore thought of a layer of aerogelaerogel, that is to say an ultralight material material resembling gelgel, but whose liquidliquid component is replaced by air. The enveloping structure of this airgel is made of a plastic materialpolyimide plastic. This is exactly what NasaNasa uses to insulate astronaut suits. For more rigidity, the scientists also added silicasilica and the assembly is reinforced with fiberglass.
This protective layer then thermally insulates the electronics. An outer “skin” made of aluminiumaluminum also allows heat to be reflected. The protected electronics include a battery, a flight controller, a video transmitter, a radio radio receiver, and also an optical camera, an infrared infrared camera and a CO2 sensor. The FireDrone has already been successfully tested in a firefighter training center. With its protective layer, it might as well be deployed in very cold weather, when drones are normally grounded.
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