National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) of the engineers organize the fourth in a series of robotic response assessments for the years of search and rescue operations (U.S. & R) speakers, the June 18-22, 2007, Texas A & M's " Disaster City "training installation College Station, Texas.

These events, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the technologies of Science, the robot test performance on the new test methods using standardized scenarios for the training of the teams' urgency. The results are used to the test, and preparation of guidelines for use, the specific kinds of R & U.S. robot before disaster scenarios.

This process will focus on two disaster scenarios urban education. A simulation of structural collapse of a building of local actors can unfold the robots in the search for the victims and to help ", the structure safe for the actors, of these victims. This requires robots to deal with a series of challenges since it through the rooms and semiprivate walls of the structure collapsed, slope, the rubble and empty, while the search for victims. The robots are providing the sensors of high technology such as laser scanner, about the size and shape of the inside empty, the structural engineers set étançonnement.

The participants will also robot to investigate a "dull / derailment," with a package of travelers, and a step in the industry HAZMAT tankers transporting substances unknown. The unknown dangers of the incident must urgently to work to a distance of 150 m (500 feet). In this scenario, the robot to cross tracks, the wreck of the rubble and the mapping of the stage, look in the windows to locate the victims to find and identify the dangerous leaks oil sector signs describing the content.

Some of the robots can also samples of unknown substances for the investigation, without himself and controlled from a distance of safety. This exercise, the robot on the ground, the people very quick, mobile phones or even throwable, and the robot can avoid that a broad field far away from a network operator. The robot is the focus of a variety of sensors, including color cameras, transmitters for two-way audio, imageurs thermal, chemical sensors, 3D Systems and mapping of GPS, and the partnership with geographic information systems (GIS).

Robot developers and distributors receive these exercises first-hand what that learning is urgently needed in order to operate efficiently and safely, and to get on their systems implementations in the simulations. The emergency teams to receive the benefits of working with a wide range of solutions with high technology within their own scenarios for the use and the focus on the robot developers to their needs.

Both benefit from the new standard test methods robot under development in response to these exercises, which give you a way to measure and compare the performance of the robot, in order to help understand the parties to the advantages and disadvantages of certain properties, and in order to measure and compare Bachelor operator in the execution of critical tasks by remote control interfaces.

This response robot evaluation exercise is locally by the Texas A & M Engineering Extension Service of Texas and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the team work (TX-TF1).