This drone is flame resistant

Firefighters are now using it DroneDrone To monitor the development of fires and many other rescue missions. What drones haven’t done yet is rush inside a burning building to help firefighters plan their response more efficiently and safely.

team of Scientists from’Imperial College London and the Swiss research institute Empa have developed a way to create an experimental drone capable of resisting fire. their prototype fire He can hold onairairwithout flinching, by undergoing a temperature of 200 degrees for about ten minutes.

which of them’PlanesPlanes able to withstand high temperatures, the researchers drew their inspiration from nature and more specifically from animals such as penguins, and Arctic foxArctic fox or spitting beetle. They all have the ability to live in extreme temperatures. To protect them, nature has provided them with fur, layers of fat, or other layers of heat-regulating protection.

FireDrone in action. The drone managed to cross a wall of flames without incident. © Empa

A bio-inspired drone

To protect the core of the drone, they thought of a layer ofairgelairgelThis is it materialmaterial Mild-like freezefreezebut which component liquidliquid It is replaced by air. The envelope structure of this antenna is made of material plasticplastic polyimide. This is exactly what NASANASA Used to insulate astronaut suits. for more than arrogancearroganceScientists added, too SilicaSilica The assembly is reinforced with fiberglass.

This protective layer then thermally insulates the electronics. An outer “shell” consisting ofAluminiumAluminium It also allows you to think heatheat. Protected electronics include the battery, flight controller, video transmitter, and receiver radioradioAnd an optical camera and a camera InfraredInfrared and a carbon monoxide sensor₂. FireDrone has already been successfully tested at the Firefighter Training Center. With its protective layer, it may also be deployed in very cold weather, when the drones are naturally grounded.