Optimus Climb

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In an aerial rescue involving a fire truck ladder, timing is critical. Traditionally, the task is handled by an operator using three joysticks to navigate a ladder to a point of rescue. Operators require significant training and constant practice to be fast yet safe while operating the ladder. Large fire departments require their ladder operators to undergo costly certification programs, while small departments sometimes lack resources to train ladder operators at all. Even for an experienced firefighter, placement is more guesswork than science, resulting in a bottleneck in the time to rescue and the possibility of human error. Knowing if the truck is close enough to a building for the ladder (also referred to as the “aerial apparatus”) to reach a victim is very challenging to gauge by eye, potentially resulting in a failed rescue attempt. During operation, the distance from the tip of the ladder to the target is extremely hard to judge, increasing risk of expensive and possibly deadly ladder-building collisions. Modern ladders do not incorporate sensors for preventing this type of collision.

The solution is simplifying and partially automating the control of the ladder on a fire truck aerial apparatus. The Fire Truck Automated Ladder Guidance System (FTLAGS) reimagines the ladder deployment process. The user designates the ladder’s target using a “point and shoot” handheld device. A microcontroller in the handheld then uses the truck’s existing controls to place the ladder at the target. This product reduces the time and personnel resources needed to deploy the ladder while also decreasing the possibility of human error and the time and cost of training human operators.

FTLAGS will directly benefit firefighters involved in operating the fire truck ladder, allowing them to complete their missions more effectively by allowing them to complete other critical objectives while the ladder automatically moves into position. Fire departments with limited resources will benefit greatly from the implementation of FTLAGS, saving money in training fees for aerial apparatus operators. Overall, fire departments will benefit from reduced exposure to human error that results in costly ladder damage.

FTLAGS offers a point and shoot interface for aerial apparatus control. After using the handheld unit to optionally select ladder path waypoints (to route the ladder around obstacles), the user selects a final target (i.e. someone in a window of a burning building). Our system displays the distance to the target. If within range, our system takes control of the aerial apparatus using a direct electronic integration for new trucks and a mechanical integration with the joystick controls for retrofitted systems. It manipulates the ladder through all three degrees of freedom (rotate, elevate, extend) with no human input. Finally, it incorporates basic spatial awareness using proximity sensors and GPS.