IDEA

The Phoenix aerial reconnaissance and rescue platform is a multipurpose drone system that is able to field a wide range of sensors and mounting solutions that can be used for SAR (Search and Rescue) purposes as well as for firefighting. This specific project’s focus lies on realising a fire extinguishing system in the form of a downward directed water stream mounted on the Phoenix platform. This type of system is unique and has not been tested yet by any other. Our approach is only possible due to the heavy lift possibility of the used Phoenix platform, which is capable of carrying up to 80kg of external load. Enough to lift the water hose and still be stable enough to operate. The hose is directly pointed towards the ground in a −90° angle, this helps in reducing the weight the drone has to pull because of the recoil force generated by the water flow through the fog nozzle. A further benefit of this system is the alignment of center of mass and center of thrust. The forces reacting to the drone are calculated, which makes it easier to calibrate the flight controller. With this optimisation work and a stable mechanical construction, Phoenix will be able to efficiently fill the gap in aerial firefighting which exists today, since a turntable ladder truck costs much more than the Phoenix drone. Of course, cannot be used to Phoenix can not be to rescue humans out of great heights, but it is still a cheaper method to provide aerial extinguishment capabilities. Another part of this project is to study the effects of a dynamic load on a drone. This will help in understanding the mechanics of placing moving and varying loads on a system and to optimise the flight controller to the given situation. This will greatly help the development of future “cargo drones” as they may find applications in fire brigades. Due to the strict laws in Austria we cannot deploy heavy drones in the line of duty, so using drones to fight fire may be a thing for the future. Our tests were conducted at the main fire station Villach.