October 27, 2014 02:53pm ET'Smart' Robot Could Help Rescue Disaster Victims A computer algorithm allows the newly developed robotics system to distinguish between a human body and debris in an emergency situation. Credit: University of Guadalajara View full size image

A new robotic tool could help rescue workers locate victims of disasters and other emergencies before venturing into collapsed buildings or other potentially dangerous places.

Developed by researchers at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, the new robotic system enables small, rugged bots — designed for search-and-rescue missions — to distinguish between human bodies and other objects, such as piles of rubble. The system includes an onboard computer and a stereoscopic camera that can capture 3D images.

As the robot roams around a disaster site, it snaps pictures of its surroundings with the 3D camera and then sends those images to the computer. The computer, in turn, scans the images for patterns that might indicate the presence of a human body, using a specially created algorithm, the researchers said in a statement. [Super-Intelligent Machines: 7 Robotic Futures]

To distinguish between a human and a pile of bricks, the computer algorithm must first break down visual information into mathematical data. It does this using what's known as a descriptor system, which assigns numerical values to different parts of the 3D images. The numbers represent the different shapes, colors and densities of the objects in the picture.

All of this mathematical data is then merged together to create a second, much simpler, image. This image is passed through another algorithm, which detects whether the object that appears in the new image is a person or something else.

During tests, a robot was able to distinguish between a number of different human silhouettes, such as a person lying on his side or a person lying under a collapsed table. But the researchers are now working on getting the descriptor system to detect new silhouette patterns that could indicate the presence of human victims.

The goal is to get the robot to "think" for itself. In other words, the researchers want the robotic system to automatically detect new human shapes based on its previous experiences, in the same way that an intelligent being— like a person or a dog — might do so.

Currently, the researchers have the system installed on a robot, but they're now working on a new way to use an external computer to run the necessary algorithms. That way, a rescue worker on the outside of a collapsed building, for example, could send the robot inside to gather real-time information about people trapped inside.

智能机器人可以帮助营救灾民

二〇一四年十月二十七日下午2点53 ET'Smart“机器人能帮助拯救灾难Victims 的计算机算法，使新开发的机器人系统，在紧急情况下人体和碎片区分。图片来源：瓜达拉哈拉大学查看原图

一个新的机器人工具可以帮助救援人员冒险进入坍塌的建筑物或其他潜在危险的地方.

在瓜达拉哈拉的墨西哥大学开发的研究人员之前找到灾害和其他紧急情况的受害者中，新的机器人系统实现了小巧，坚固耐用的机器人＆mdash;专为搜索和救援任务＆mdash;人体和其他的目的，如粪堆之间进行区分。该系统包括一个机载计算机和立体摄像机可以捕捉3D图像.

由于机器人周围灾难现场漫游时，它咬合的周围环境与3D相机拍摄的图片，然后发送这些图像到计算机。计算机，依次扫描模式，可能表明一个人的身体的存在，使用专门创建的算法图像，研究人员在一份声明中说。 [超级智能机：7机器人期货Super-Intelligent Machines: 7 Robotic Futures为此，它使用了所谓的一个描述符系统，该系统指定数值的3D图像的不同部分。内的数字表示不同的形状，颜色和在图象.

的对象的密度

所有这些数学数据的随后合并在一起，以创建第二，简单得多，图像。这个图像是通过另一种算法，其检测出现在新的图像的对象是否是人或其他东西.

在测试过程中通过，一个机器人能够若干不同的人类剪影，来区分诸如一个人躺在在他的身边，或一个人躺在在折叠表。但研究人员目前正在对获取描述系统检测到新的剪影图形可能表明人类受害者.

存在

我们的目标是让机器人＆QUOT;想＆QUOT;对于本身。换句话说，研究人员需要根据它的以往经验机器人系统自动检测新的人类的形状，以相同的方式，一个智能感＆mdash;喜欢一个人还是一只狗＆mdash;可能会做这样.

目前，研究人员已经安装在机器人系统，但他们现在正在研究一种新的方式来使用外部计算机运行所需的算法。这样一来，在一个倒塌的楼房外的救援人员，例如，可以派机器人里面收集有关的人被困在里面.