Iranian Lab's Quadcopters To Rescue Swimmers

mpthompson writes "Via RoboticsTrends' newsletter, RTS Lab in Tehran is developing Pars, which is an aerial rescue robot quadcopter designed to save potential drowning victims. The ship-based quadcopter responds instantly when alerted to potential victims in the ocean, locating them with thermal imaging sensors, and dispensing life preservers directly over them. The current prototype carries one life preserver, but they are working on a new model to carry three life preserver rings. Future models may dispense up to 15 self-inflating rings. A launching platform for use on ships has been designed, but more intriguing is an idea for a remote stand-alone launching platform. It's good to see innovative robot tech coming from a country that is not normally well covered in Western media."

Is it real?

[Anonymous Coward]

I expect that's the main thing taking into consideration the mountain stealth jet.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it real?

With Iran's record of photoshopping things into being I have to question the existence of this device. I'm not saying it isn't an interesting and beneficial use of this type of technology. I just need more than Iran's word on it because when it comes to Iran (and N.Korea among others) "pictures or it didn't happen" just doesn't seem to be enough.

Re:Is it real?

[Anonymous Coward]

For the 100th time, The missile photos were Photoshopped by a new agency (There are tens of them in Iran) and the issue was known after the IRGC's official website published the main photo.

The other Qaher-313 in the air Photoshop work was done by "design and graphics team" of a news website (hundreds if not thousands of them exist in Iran).

Re:

[Hal_Porter]

No, no no. It's true Iran is making highly enriched Uranium that it could turned into weapons grade stuff in a couple of months [foreignpolicy.com], and is testing space launch systems that could easily be used as ICBMs and now is building naval drones that could be used to attack US ships.

But everyone knows these projects are all civilian. The Uranium is for a research reactor which they need to generate power. Even though most countries with large amounts of nuclear power plants don't have research reactors or local enrichme

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[skitchen8]

*DRONES No more /. before coffee :(

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[WhackAttack]

I'm sure you were scared for your privacy when Bush passed the Patriot Act...

Re:

[skitchen8]

I'm not really scared for my privacy at all, whoever is wiretapping me has the most boring job ever. I am active on RCGroups, somewhat active here, and spend a lot of time looking at tower hobbies, xheli, nitroplanes, banggood, and tmart. I call and text my parents, my fiancee, and various people from work. I almost exclusively email people from work, and I travel to and from Syracuse as needed for medical treatment for my son. Hopefully I just saved the FBI some time and resources. There's little they coul

Unlikely to work when needed.

[Anonymous Coward]

It won't work worth spit in a storm.

and that is when you REALLY need something to work.

Re:Unlikely to work when needed.

[skitchen8]

You're not wrong, but losing a $1,000 quadcopter, to me, is preferable to losing either the man in the water or sending out a manned helicopter. It will work better than sitting there going "I hope that guy doesn't drown."

Re:

[O('_')O_Bush]

Yep, Obama started the Gulf War and Iraq War. That is why your comment makes so much sense.

Re:Unlikely to work when needed.

[Patch86]

Presumably this is in addition to, not a replacement for, other rescue technologies/methods currently in use. If this is a way of getting life preservers to victims at high speed ahead of the conventional lifeboat that is also on the way, that can only be a good thing. A full sized lifeboat can go at what, 25 knots (30 mph) maybe, and perhaps a quadcopter can go 50 mph, that might be the difference between someone being in the cold, rough water without safety equipment for 30 mins or 15 mins.

The quadcopter in TFA also has a heatcam, LED emergency beacons, and a voice recognition system to pick up on people shouting for help. All things that should make it easier for a lifeboat or rescue helicopter to directly pinpoint people in distress and get to them more quickly.

Re:

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Even the variable pitch rotors used in full sized helicopters are not all that efficient compared to fixed wing aircraft. (Here "efficiency" is defined by the energy used to move payload). You see the fixed wing aircraft produce enough thrust to overcome drag and the aerodynamics of pushing the wing into air creates lift. Anything that hovers must produce enough thrust to overcome the weight. Typically in a fixed wing aircraft the Lift (or weight) to drag ratio is above 10. Thus you are using much smaller e

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[skitchen8]

I offer a challenge: fly a fixed wing aircraft to a man in water. Stop the plane, throw down life preservers, and stay exactly above the swimmer with a beacon light to guide rescue swimmers in. I bet at the beginning of the second sentence fuel efficiency stops mattering as you fall out of the sky and the quad copter begins laughing maniacally. Rotary wing aircraft exist, and are used because despite the small disadvantages they also offer one huge advantage as well. There is a reason rotary wing is used

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[maeka]

You appear to be picking a nit which wasn't offered.

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[maeka]

As I said. A nit which wasn't offered. GPP mentioned the efficiency but in no way suggested that made them unfit for the job at hand. The only person running with that claim is you.

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[deadmantalking]

Sorry, I am a bit confused. Isn't this discussion about quadcopters in general and their rescue role in specific? Why would the GP mention fixed wing, unless he thought them to be relevant to the discussion?
For example, if you were discussing the merits of presidential democracy versus parliamentary democracy, and I jumped in to say that in Mussolini's fascist state, the trains always ran on time, would it not be proper for you to assume that i brought in fascism because i thought it had advantages over dem

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[maeka]

He was responding to someone talking about the efficiency of non-pitch-shifting rotors. He commented on how efficiency doesn't improve much once you introduce blade pitch-control. He used fixed-wing aircraft as a contrast.

That's all.

You were the one who chose this subthread as your Nteenth location for saying the same thing, ignoring relevance to the specific discussion at hand.

Sure this overall story is about QCs and rescue. But the subthread you chose to lose your mind in isn't.

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[maeka]

If deadmanwalking != skitchen8 I apologize, but the verbiage smells the same.

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[skitchen8]

Step 1) Google warthox. Step 2) Watch videos Step 3) Stand (or sit, I don't care) corrected. I can hit almost 20 mph with my $40 Chinese micro quad, hitting 50 is relatively trivial for a more expensive/powerful machine. Efficiency begins to matter less when you are trying to potentially save a life, especially when your aircraft is unmanned and expendable.

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[mad flyer]

Pretty sure shortsighted people were spweing the same advice against helicopters when they first start being used.

You have to start somewhere. not everything works perfectly at the first prototype... just look how long it took to get the V22 osprey into active duty. the first prototypes flew in the 60'...

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[AmiMoJo]

This isn't going to be some little toy, it will be a fairly large and therefore having plenty of mass and power to control itself in a storm. Much like a full size helicopter or drone.

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[u38cg]

In addition to the other replies, presumably a major use case for this technology is stupid tourists, who rarely go swimming during major storms.

Delivery system for nuclear weapons?

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder how the warmongers are going to spin this as evidence of nuclear weapons manufactory. Possibly as a delivery system for tactical nukes?

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[game kid]

I dunno if the US gov is that eager for evidence, but I do think that Iran's would love something like this to free them from hoping a US Navy ship rescues their seafarers [csmonitor.com].

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[cdrudge]

If they are having problems with it carrying 3 life preservers, I'm going to bet a tactical nuke might be a little further away.

Thermite grenades over oil tanker

[drnb]

Possibly as a delivery system for tactical nukes?

More likely a delivery system for thermite grenades over oil tankers.

Re:

[tomhath]

Repeating that 1991 strategy as needed in Iraq and Afghanistan would have been far less expensive

Repeating 1991 would've given Saddam an excuse to murder another quarter of a million people as payback (which he did in the mid-90s). And the Arab Spring would never have happened if dictators were free to slaughter people at will.

Try this link

[sa1lnr]

http://www.robotee.com/index.php/aerial-rescue-robot-pars-31026/ [robotee.com]

Not going to work any time soon.

[Anonymous Coward]

Just some facts.

The range of these battery powered drones with pay-load(1.5kg) would be around 8 minutes, regardless of battery size.
Bigger battery = heavier = more power needed to move around and stay airborne
4 minutes out @ 20mph (unlikely in real world conditions) is 1.3 miles or 2.1 km.
30 minutes to recharge (assuming the wireless charging works at top speed)
For every 1.3 miles or 2.1 km of coastline you would need around 4 drones for 100% coverage.

And they will not work when winds are over 20 mph.
And t

Re:

[wonkey_monkey]

Just some facts.

Care to post your qualifications first?

The range of these battery powered drones with pay-load(1.5kg) would be around 8 minutes, regardless of battery size.

Where'd you get those numbers from?

Bigger battery = heavier = more power needed to move around and stay airborne

Bigger battery also = more power available, so...

4 minutes out @ 20mph (unlikely in real world conditions) is 1.3 miles or 2.1 km.

Who says these things only go at 20mph? And how is (as you appear to be implying) 2.1 km not far enough?! These things could easily save lives within a few hundred metres of shore or an off-shore installation like an oil rig. Oh, also, because I did some reading, I found out that they're designed to soft splash into water when they run out of juice to be recovered later, so you can doub

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[ColdWetDog]

Imagine someone doing a long distance swim, say crossing the English Channel. This thing finds them and keep dropping life rings on their head.

Go imagine Natalie Portman swimming in a pool.

You'll have a nicer day.

Re:

[kevingolding2001]

Have a nice day.

http://wallls.com/wallpaper/25151/ [wallls.com]

saving face

[onyxruby]

This actually sounds like a good idea. Perhaps they got tired of the US having to rescue their sailors?

As the submitter of this posting...

[mpthompson]

I work in the robotics industry and what really caught my eye was that this interesting work is coming out of Iran. Something I thought was pretty cool considering the negative press we get from our media about the country. Obviously, the Iranian government is very anti-American, but I would bet if I were to sit down with the folks at JST Labs working on this project I would find we share a lot of common interests in technology and such. It is from such common interests that broader cultural bridges can be built from.

Re:

[swillden]

I would bet if I were to sit down with the folks at JST Labs working on this project I would find we share a lot of common interests in technology and such. It is from such common interests that broader cultural bridges can be built from.

My experience is that I get along like a house on fire with geeks from any nation, culture or ethnicity. Interests in technology and building cool stuff cross all other boundaries. I often feel like there's a vast, unknown international brotherhood of geeks. It's seriously beautiful. I'm sure I could walk into any city in the world, and if I could just find a brother nerd I'd be safe, well cared-for and building cool stuff right away.

Well, except for those idiots who use vi. I just can't stand being in th

Re:

[skitchen8]

Let's name other things that could deliver bombs: RC cars, normal cars, those little foam gliders you get from the dollar store, a Frisbee, and tennis balls. So what point were you trying to make?

Rescue Swimmers? Ya, Sure

[LifesABeach]

How about delivery systems? They are a bit noisy, but useful. All this crap about nuclear bombs was a mis-direct. Iran's goal is to compete with the likes of Fed-X, UPS, On-Trac, and the Post Office. This would make a good app, wait! Isn't there one of those already? [slashdot.org]