NASA research team uses local historic coal mine to create rescue robots - WVVA TV

(RALEIGH COUNTY) These robots could be the answer to rescuing a coal miner in the future if an emergency happens.

“Robots could’ve helped in a lot of past disasters. Fitting in tight spaces, getting in there quick when you’re first unsure if it’s safe for rescue responders to go in you can send robots in. If you lose one it’s not near as big of a cost as to losing someone going in to rescue,” Robotics Mechanical Engineer, John Mayo said.

Nine California-based NASA researchers are at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine testing their machines for an upcoming international competition.

“We’ve tested them in a few different mines on the west coast, but they’re mostly gold mines. We were interested in testing in coal mines because the competition will be inside of an coal mine in Pittsburgh,” Robotics Technologist, Benjamin Morrell said.

Sometimes it can be a bit challenging for the robots to do their job due to the climate of the coal mines.

“We’ve had some electronic issues with the robots. Chasing wires down to figure out if some were cut. Some issues comes for the water inside of the mine when the ceiling sweats, so we have to rain cover the robots,” Mayo explained.

The bots act just like a human, using sensors and cameras as eyes that shoot lasers to scan the underground environment. Software computers act as the brain, with wheels rolling the machine around.

The robots should be on the market and ready for mine companies and rescuers to use within five years.

Thursday was the final experiment day. The team will return to Beckley for a final trial run before heading to their international robot competition on August 15th in Pittsburgh.

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https://wvva.com/news/top-stories/2019/07/18/nasa-research-team-uses-local-historic-coal-mine-to-create-rescue-robots/

2019-07-19 02:41:49Z
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