Firefighters might not normally consider ladder operations mere child’s play, but that’s exactly what inspired new technology being developed to facilitate ladder positioning and improve firefighter safety.
Fran Orzech was watching his kids play with toy fire trucks when he came up with the idea of technology that could help firefighters accurately and safely position an aerial ladder in low-visibility situations such as under heavy smoke.
The Automated Firefighting Extension Ladder Guidance System is designed to use ultrasonic sensors and a camera mounted on the top of the extension ladder or aerial platform to sense proximity to a building, roof or window.
Within the system, a computer can aid firefighters by automatically controlling azimuth, elevation, and extension of the ladder to control speed and precision while also reducing risk to firefighters and equipment.
Additionally, an imaging camera and gas sensors would provide additional data, which anyone from a ladder operator to a fire chief can access at a display.
Could it become a reality? Possibly. A prototype is being developed at Carnegie Mellon University with Toyota and Deeplocal, after Orzech’s idea was the winning submission in Toyota’s “Ideas for Good” challenge.
The guidance technology used in the concept is based on Toyota technology that helps automatically and accurately park cars with minimal user input.
The power of child imagination, where kids “don’t know what’s possible and what’s impossible,” spurred the creative concept, according to Orzech.
While watching his kids play, Orzech asked, “where are all the firefighters?”
“This fire is too hot,” his kids said. “It’s not safe for human firefighters.”
Their explanation that the fire trucks were automatically tackling the fire like robots would eventually evolve into Orzech’s idea of automating certain fire apparatus functions.
“I would also like to see the system used not just for ladders, but also other parts of the fire truck like stabilizers that need extra width on the sides of the vehicles to position on a street,” Orzech said.
Also, having a computer automatically determine the speed of adjusting a ladder could also reduce wear and tear on the ladder by reducing pressure that can damage equipment.
Though not a firefighter himself, Orzech said his uncle was a firefighter and some of his friends and family are either firefighters or EMTs.
The responders he asked for feedback on his idea indicated the technology could possibly be improved upon, but can still make a useful prototype in its current concept.