Italian development of a humanoid robot for emergency response
The Italian Institute of Technology (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) is working on a unique humanoid robot with a jetpack that will be able to respond quickly to natural disasters. This project is based on the iCub, a bipedal device developed for artificial intelligence research.
The engineering team equipped the robot with a jetpack with 2 jet engines, replacing the flexible arms of the original prototype with more powerful JetCat arms. The thrust of the new device reaches 1000 N and the exhaust temperature can reach 800 degrees. The robot, dubbed iRonCub3, has been augmented with a titanium spine for strength and heat-resistant coatings.
The ultimate goal is to create humanoid robots that can fly to disaster sites to conduct inspections and provide critical information to remote personnel. In addition, such robots will be able to land, overcome obstacles and perform tasks. This could be useful in rescue operations and inspections of hazardous sites.
At the moment, the project is in the early stages of development. The team has already conducted wind tunnel tests, but iRonCub3 has not yet been able to take to the air. Nevertheless, the researchers are confident that they will be able to finalize it in the near future.