Robotic device to help first responders

Police, firefighters, and other emergency workers responding to natural or man-made disasters may someday save more lives with the help of Gizmo, an advanced mobile wireless communications device. The device was designed Javier Rodríguez Molina, an electrical engineering graduate student and programmer analyst at the University of California-San Diego’s California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). Gizmo, which looks like a cross between a remote-controlled toy truck and a lunar landing vehicle, may transform disaster response by collecting and transmitting in real time any information that emergency personnel need via any communications system they are using. “In almost any emergency, the most important thing is immediate, accurate information,” Rodriguez said. “Gizmo will eventually be able to go anywhere on its own and send back in real time whatever information you might need.”

From the Circuits Lab at Calit2, Rodriguez hopes to build many varieties of Gizmos — even one that flies. The devices could go anywhere where it is too dangerous for humans, including urban emergencies such as hostage situations, terrorist attacks, or a building collapse. The current Gizmo is the size of a remote-controlled toy truck, but future models may be alternately much smaller (so they could enter a hostage situation without being detected), or much bigger, such as a full-sized truck, which could penetrate disaster situations even in the harshest conditions, such as a hurricane. “Using technology to try to save lives is the most important thing for me now,” Rodriguez said. “I’m taking part in work that can make people more secure by helping police, helping firefighters, helping anybody who is responding to a dangerous situation.” Working under Ramesh Rao, an expert in emergency technology and director of the UC San Diego division of Calit2, Rodriguez is now guiding a team of engineering undergraduates who are building Gizmos, which create their own wireless network bubble wherever they go. One Gizmo can create a wireless network 200 meters in diameter; several working in conjunction can create an exponentially larger network. One of the biggest problems for responders in any emergency situation is losing communications with one another and not knowing what is going on inside a dangerous area. Rodriguez and his colleagues concentrated therefor on building Gizmo to collect accurate information in emergency situations and transmit it back to responders immediately using whatever communications system is operating. The data collected by Gizmos can be sent back via wireless network connection to virtually anywhere, whether it is a police command station a block away or a research laboratory on the other side of the world. Gizmos can be controlled by cell phone, laptop or a gaming joystick hooked to a computer. The platform on each Gizmo can be mounted with any kind of device — high definition cameras; super sensitive microphones; sensors that detect dangerous gases, radiation or high heat levels; or a remote controlled arm that can collect samples. The information can then be sent to any communications device — cell phones, lap tops, Bluetooth, or whatever type of wireless transmitter emergency personnel are using. If one communications system fails, emergency personnel can switch to another. As is the case with any wireless Internet system, Gizmo can send information through walls or other obstructions.

Another goal for Rodriguez is to make sure that Gizmo is relatively cheap — under $1,000 — and constructed with many easy-to-replace parts so that they can be mass produced. That way, almost any police, fire and other emergency agencies could buy them off the shelf. If one Gizmo is destroyed in the line of duty, it can be easily replaced. For now, Gizmos are wheeled vehicles, but Rodriguez and his colleagues already are building one with tank treads so it can go up stairs or over curbs and rocks. The opportunities for Gizmo are immense. Rodriguez envisions using them at delicate archaeological ruins, underground cave-ins or even for routine security patrols. “People see Gizmo and immediately think of a new idea for what it can do,” he said. “I’m sure it has important uses that we haven’t even thought of yet.”