Disaster Zone Technology Gives Rescue Missions the Edge

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Disaster zones operate on tight timelines. Minutes, or even seconds, can be the difference between life and death when people are trapped by rubble, collapsed buildings, or rising waters.

2Technology has always played a part in search and rescue, and relief teams depend on a range of tools to help save lives.

3Natural disasters affect around 200 million people on average each year.Between 2000 and 2019, they led to more than 1.2 million deaths. And weather—including floods, storms, and heatwaves—is the root cause of 90%of those disasters. As climate change drives more extreme weather events,technology and rescue expertise will only increase in importance.

4That expertise is often provided by high-level agencies like NASA, using satellite imagery to provide ‘before and after’ maps highlighting areas damaged by the Springfield tornado. Or imagery from the 7.8 magnitude Nepal earthquake in April 2015, where an international team led by NASA helped the Nepali government identify landslide hazards, and decide where to provide relief or evacuate people.

灾区救援刻不容缓。一旦有人被瓦砾、倒塌的建筑物或上涨的水位困住，分分秒秒都会是生死之别。

2技术一直在搜救中发挥作用，救援队伍依靠各类工具来救助生命。

3自然灾害平均每年影响约2 亿人，在2000 至2019 年期间共导致120 多万人死亡。此类灾害的起因有九成是天气，如洪涝、暴风雨和热浪等。随着气候变化导致更多极端天气事件发生，技术和救援专业知识的重要性会有增无减。

4上述专业知识通常由诸如美国国家航空航天局（NASA）之类的高级机构提供，它们利用卫星图像提供斯普林菲尔德龙卷风发生前后的对照地图，标示遭受破坏的区域；或是提供2015 年4 月 尼 泊 尔7.8 级地震的图像，当时由NASA 领导的一个国际小组曾协助尼泊尔政府排查山体滑坡隐患，确定派出救援或疏散人员的地点。

5Mapping work is also carried out at ground level by organizations such as MapAction, with expertise in geographic information systems and land surveying to create detailed relief and rescue maps. After the Haiti earthquake in August 2021, the charity drew up maps showing shelter, health facilities,and food distribution, but also passable1passable 可通行的。roads, helicopter landing points and relief agency numbers.

6One of the first actions relief agencies often take in disaster areas is to set up mobile networks so that locals and workers can communicate effectively. Local phone networks may be badly damaged or non-existent, so a mobile app developed by the Serval2serval 薮猫，非洲野生猫科动物，听觉敏锐，可听到啮齿动物发出的超声波高频声音。Project in response to the Haiti earthquake in 2010, allows phones to communicate directly with each other when networks are down.

7Two-way text messaging systems can also be set up to cover a specific region, or even just one neighborhood,allowing agencies to talk to people on even the most basic mobile handsets3handset 手机。.But communications companies can also create internet, Wi-Fi and phone networks within minutes using portable devices that can fit inside a backpack.

5地面测绘工作则由MapAction 这样的机构完成，他们拥有地理信息系统和土地勘测方面的专长，可绘制详细的抢险救灾地图。2021 年8月海地发生地震之后，该慈善机构绘制了多份地图，地图上标有避难所、卫生设施和食品分发点的位置，并显示可通行的道路、直升机着陆点和救援机构数目。

6救援机构在灾区往往首先采取的行动之一是设立移动网络，以便当地灾民和救援工作人员能有效通信。当地电话网络可能会严重受损或荡然无存，因此“薮猫工程”为应对2010 年海地地震开发了一款移动应用程序，使手机在网络中断时能直接相互通信。

7还可设置覆盖某一区域甚至某一社区的双向短信系统，让救援机构能通过即便是最简单的手机与灾民通话。不过通信公司也可利用可放入背包的便携设备在短短几分钟内构建互联网、无线网络和电话网络。

8Small is also beautiful when it comes to finding survivors in wrecked buildings. Researchers at ETH Zurich4德语全称为Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich，是瑞士的两所联邦理工学院之一，享有“欧陆第一名校”的美誉，位于德语区的苏黎世，另一所是位于法语区的洛桑联邦理工学院。have created a palm-sized sensor array that can detect humidity, carbon dioxide from breath, and chemicals emitted from the skin in tiny quantities. Where rescue dogs are not available, these tiny detectors could be lifesaving.

9Heartbeat is another vital sign, and NASA’s FINDER5全称为Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response，缩略词字面上恰好意为“搜寻者”。is a suitcase-sized microwave technology that can identify tiny motions caused by breathing and beating hearts under tons of building debris. Following the Nepal earthquake,it helped find four men buried under 10 feet of brick, wood and mud. And in tests, FINDER has detected heartbeats through 20 feet of concrete.

10In 2012, the Pentagon ran a competition to develop adaptable first responder robots capable of using human tools, including vehicles. One of the graduates of that challenge was Atlas from Boston Dynamics—a humanoid6humanoid 类人动物，人形物。robot that can run, jump over obstacles,and do somersaults7somersault 翻滚，空翻，翻筋斗。.

8在严重损毁的建筑物中搜寻幸存者时，“小亦是美”。苏黎世联邦理工学院研究人员研制出了一种手掌大小的阵列传感器，能检测湿度、呼气排出的二氧化碳和皮肤散发的微量化学物质。在无救援犬的情况下，此类微型探测器或可拯救生命。

9心跳是另一生命体征，NASA 的“搜寻者”是一种手提箱大小的微波技术装置，可探测大堆建筑残骸下呼吸和心跳引起的细微动静。在尼泊尔发生地震后，该设备协助搜寻到了四名被掩埋在10 英尺厚砖木和泥土下的人员。“搜寻者”还曾在测试中透过20 英尺厚的混凝土探测到心跳。

10美国国防部于2012 年举办了一项竞赛，旨在开发会使用车辆等人类工具的自适应应急救援机器人。该竞赛的成果之一是波士顿动力公司研制的阿特拉斯——一种能够奔跑、跳越障碍物和空翻的人形机器人。

11Atlas isn’t typical of search and rescue robots. Many are much simpler tracked vehicles, like the iRobot Pack-Bots8一种军用机器人，可以执行炸弹处理、侦察和监视等任务。, which helped survey and clean up Fukushima’s nuclear plant after it was destroyed by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

12Some of the most interesting and seemingly simple designs are inspired by nature. Carnegie Mellon University’s snake robot was deployed in Mexico City following an earthquake in September 2017. Snakebot was able to crawl through collapsed apartment buildings and transmit a live video feed to rescue workers, and an upgrade means that it can now swim underwater.

13Others include the Cheetah 3—a rapid four-legged robot able to run at 30 miles per hour, jump over small obstacles, walk up steps and over rubble—and tiny but swift insect-like robots from MIT. Footpads9footpad（航天器等为软着陆用的)支架。allow MIT’s cockroach-sized robot to move and turn quickly in tight spaces, making it ideal for rescue missions and finding hazards like gas leaks.

14Drones, too, are undergoing a transformation. Unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) have been used for some time to detect and track wildfires, find survivors using thermalcameras, and create 3D maps to focus rescue efforts. But by pairing UAVs with algorithmic learning in a specially designed air gym,researchers hope to create autonomous drones with better navigation, able to complete complex missions on their own.

11阿特拉斯并非典型的搜救机器人。很多搜救机器人是简单得多的履带式车辆，譬如iRobot 公司的多任务机器人PackBot。在福岛核电站被日本东北大地震和海啸摧毁后，这种机器人曾协助对该核电站进行勘查和清理。

12一些极其有趣而又看似简单的设计灵感源自大自然。2017 年9 月墨西哥城发生地震后，卡内基梅隆大学的蛇形机器人被派到当地。蛇形机器人能爬行穿越倒塌的公寓大楼，向救援人员传输实时视频，升级后现在可以在水下游弋。

13其他机器人包括麻省理工学院研制的“猎豹3 号”——一种行动快捷的四足机器人，能以每小时30 英里的速度奔跑、跳越小障碍，还能上台阶、跨瓦砾——以及小巧而快捷的昆虫形机器人，因为装有支架，这种蟑螂大小的机器人能在狭窄空间中迅速移动和转弯，非常适合开展救援行动和探测煤气泄漏等隐患。

14无人机也在转型升级。无人机用于探测和跟踪野火、利用热成像仪搜寻幸存者、绘制三维地图来引导救援行动聚焦特定区域已有一段时间。但研究人员还希望，通过在专门设计的飞行训练环境中将无人机与算法学习匹配，研制出具有更佳导航性能、能自行完成复杂任务的自主无人机。

15UAVs and other autonomous robots need to respond to real-world events,avoiding obstacles and making decisions. The Air Learning10哈佛大学与谷歌联合开发的开源模拟器，用于无人机导航算法训练。flight gym will help to design not only algorithms that help drones to take on specific rescue missions, but onboard computers for all kinds of autonomous robots.

16But it is another natural design that could help boost the aerial drone’s performance even further. MIT is working on tiny drones inspired by flying insects like the mosquito and dragonfly. Using robotic soft actuators11actuator致动器，传动装置。for wing movements, made from thin rubber cylinders12coated in carbon nanotubes13nanotube 纳米管。, the drone is lightweight and sturdy14sturdy紧固的，结实的。enough to withstand collisions and direct hits.

17These tiny drones have no motor,instead relying on electrostatic15electrostatic 静电的。force once a current is applied that causes the wings to beat nearly 500 times a second. Scientists hope that one day they will be able to equip the drones with cameras to operate in cramped spaces and help find survivors.

15无人机和其他自主机器人须对现实事件做出响应，避开障碍物，做出行动决策。“空中学习”飞行训练环境将有助于设计可辅助无人机执行特定救援任务的算法及各种适用于自主机器人的机载电脑。

16而有助于进一步提升无人机性能的却是另一项仿生设计。麻省理工学院正在研发的微型无人机灵感源自蚊子和蜻蜓等会飞的昆虫。该无人机运用以涂敷碳纳米管的薄橡胶圆筒制成的软致动器来扇动“翅膀”，轻盈而又坚固，足以承受碰撞和直接击打。

17这种微型无人机没有马达，而是靠静电力驱动，一旦通电，可驱使“翅膀”每秒扇动近500 次。科学家们希望有朝一日能为无人机配备摄像头，以便其能在狭窄空间内作业，协助搜寻幸存者。