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The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

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Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#11

Post by melkiaur »

treis wrote: post #6
funkaster wrote: post #3

while the Colossus looks really interesting, I think the biggest impact was the video feed. I don't have the specs, but just by quick glancing of the video, that small stream of water probably didn't help at all in this particular case. You would have to be way closer for it to be effective, or use a different pattern of water if you're trying to achieve something else (e.g. ventilation or cooling down). In any case,…

I've noticed that people have been giving a lot of credit to the fire fighters. It's clear they tried their best and risked their lives to remove the artifacts that they could. But it's also clear that everything that could burn did burn: https://images.app.goo.gl/PsAzFTwaz9rRC4Qp6 The entire roof is in ashes and there doesn't appear to be anything combustible left.

You missed the part about the trusses in the bell tower that didn't burn. If they burnt and the bells fell (13 tons for the biggest one!), then the whole building would have collapsed.

They had guys in the tower, protecting that.

Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#12

Post by organsnyder »

treis wrote: post #6
funkaster wrote: post #3

while the Colossus looks really interesting, I think the biggest impact was the video feed. I don't have the specs, but just by quick glancing of the video, that small stream of water probably didn't help at all in this particular case. You would have to be way closer for it to be effective, or use a different pattern of water if you're trying to achieve something else (e.g. ventilation or cooling down). In any case,…

I've noticed that people have been giving a lot of credit to the fire fighters. It's clear they tried their best and risked their lives to remove the artifacts that they could. But it's also clear that everything that could burn did burn: https://images.app.goo.gl/PsAzFTwaz9rRC4Qp6 The entire roof is in ashes and there doesn't appear to be anything combustible left.

Given the hand they were dealt[1], I think they did a remarkable job.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/world/europe/why-notre-da...

Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#13

Post by melling »

mitfahrener wrote: post #5

Chinese technology. Designed and built in China.

It’s great that China has achieved global competitiveness in innovation. Maglevs, electric vehicles, space exploration, AI, etc will improve more rapidly with more competition.

Now we need for other “offline“ countries to join to increase global innovation.

Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#14

Post by organsnyder »

treis wrote: post #6
funkaster wrote: post #3

while the Colossus looks really interesting, I think the biggest impact was the video feed. I don't have the specs, but just by quick glancing of the video, that small stream of water probably didn't help at all in this particular case. You would have to be way closer for it to be effective, or use a different pattern of water if you're trying to achieve something else (e.g. ventilation or cooling down). In any case,…

I've noticed that people have been giving a lot of credit to the fire fighters. It's clear they tried their best and risked their lives to remove the artifacts that they could. But it's also clear that everything that could burn did burn: https://images.app.goo.gl/PsAzFTwaz9rRC4Qp6 The entire roof is in ashes and there doesn't appear to be anything combustible left.

The organ casework looks quite combustible to me: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10214621195466674&se...

Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#15

Post by SiempreViernes »

stcredzero wrote: post #2

My awareness comes from a tragic event, but I still must say that the Colossus is pretty cool. I wonder if the birdlike Boston Dynamics robot could be adapted for indoor firefighting in confined spaces. (Perhaps with a flippable/rotatable 4 wheeled gimbal like the Dean Kamen iBot has, which would enable stair climbing.) https://gizmodo.com/boston-dynamics-new-robot-is-a-giant-seg...

I'm not sure the Boston bird can take any significant amount of heat or water, to say nothing of its ability to navigate a floor strewn with (burning) debris.

Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#17

Post by JshWright »

melkiaur wrote: post #9
funkaster wrote: post #3

while the Colossus looks really interesting, I think the biggest impact was the video feed. I don't have the specs, but just by quick glancing of the video, that small stream of water probably didn't help at all in this particular case. You would have to be way closer for it to be effective, or use a different pattern of water if you're trying to achieve something else (e.g. ventilation or cooling down). In any case,…

Apparently, a significant difference between American and French firefighters is that the latter prefer to fight the fire from the inside (e.g.: avoid the heat and steam to accumulate inside). Apart from the video aspect, wouldn't the Colossus' water stream help them achieve that: creating a path for them to intervene and potentially escape ?

Where have you seen that difference apparent? That's not the case, in my experience.

Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#18

Post by gpm »

stcredzero wrote: post #2

My awareness comes from a tragic event, but I still must say that the Colossus is pretty cool. I wonder if the birdlike Boston Dynamics robot could be adapted for indoor firefighting in confined spaces. (Perhaps with a flippable/rotatable 4 wheeled gimbal like the Dean Kamen iBot has, which would enable stair climbing.) https://gizmodo.com/boston-dynamics-new-robot-is-a-giant-seg...

Flying drones close to a fire seems like a counter productive idea, flight is achieved by pushing lots of air around, pushing lots of air around increases the amount of oxygen available to the fire.

Edit: Oops - not flying - so this comment makes no sense. I thought you meant some of the bird-like drones we've seen.

Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#19

Post by funkaster »

szczys wrote: post #7
funkaster wrote: post #3

while the Colossus looks really interesting, I think the biggest impact was the video feed. I don't have the specs, but just by quick glancing of the video, that small stream of water probably didn't help at all in this particular case. You would have to be way closer for it to be effective, or use a different pattern of water if you're trying to achieve something else (e.g. ventilation or cooling down). In any case,…

Yeah, it makes sense that being able to see inside the structure would be a huge help in planning how to take on the fire. I was wondering about the robot's water stream being used to keep things currently not burning from starting on fire. Do you think this would be used to hose down relics they were trying to protect from the rest of the blaze or is that not even considered when trying to get it under control?

that could be something, but you would have to weigh in the damage from water vs fire. watering relics could potentially damage and destroy relics as much as fire. Same with walls: you can water them to prevent them from catching fire, but that will eventually deteriorate the structural integrity, so you need to be careful.

Re: The Drones and Robots That Helped Save Notre Dame

#20

Post by JshWright »

funkaster wrote: post #3

while the Colossus looks really interesting, I think the biggest impact was the video feed. I don't have the specs, but just by quick glancing of the video, that small stream of water probably didn't help at all in this particular case. You would have to be way closer for it to be effective, or use a different pattern of water if you're trying to achieve something else (e.g. ventilation or cooling down). In any case,…

It looks like they were mostly using it to dump water on the pile of debris from the collapsed roof. Seems like a reasonable use case (you wouldn't want crews operating under the rest of the roof that hadn't collapsed).
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