FW-HTP-P: Firefighter Exoskeleton for Navigation In eXtreme Environments (FENIXE)

FW-HTP-P：用于极端环境中导航的消防员外骨骼 (FENIXE)

• 批准号: 2128907
• 负责人: Michael Bazzocchi
• 金额: $ 14.97万
• 依托单位: Clarkson University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-15 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2128907&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: FW; HTP; Firefighter; Exoskeleton; Navigation

This project investigates adoption and perception of automated, adaptive, and intelligent firefighter exoskeleton suits by career and volunteer firefighters in order to mitigate injury, increase workplace safety, and address challenges experienced by underrepresented groups, such as women in firefighting. Given the critical role of firefighters and that nearly two-thirds of all firefighters are volunteers, it is essential to increase longevity and retention of firefighters, especially in ageing rural communities. To improve safety and inclusivity in firefighting, the team is designing a novel exoskeleton suit that is personalized to a broad range of firefighters by studying how firefighters from various backgrounds perform tasks and how they may be equipped with knowledge of the environment through intelligent sensing. The team is forging partnerships with local fire departments, groups involved in firefighting safety, companies involved in manufacturing equipment and components that enable low-cost exoskeleton development, and organizations advocating for underrepresented groups such as women in firefighting. Through these connections, the team is gathering information on challenges faced by firefighters to inform the design of integrated adaptable exoskeleton suits for firefighting. The project has direct impact on improving safety, productivity, longevity, and inclusion for rural firefighters and fire departments, strengthening firefighter retention and recruitment for this essential societal service. The project is providing research opportunities to women and students from underrepresented groups through programs supported by the Community of Underrepresented Professional Opportunities at Clarkson.The team integrates expertise from ergonomics, biomechanics, dynamics, control, materials, structures, sensing, user interfaces, artificial intelligence (AI), and sociology to accomplish the project objectives during the planning phase. The team is conducting studies to analyze the biomechanical and ergonomical characteristics as firefighters perform functional tasks while being recorded by dense multimodal environment sensors. The team is collaborating to create a design for an integrated exoskeleton suit that assists the firefighter as needed and that adapts to a broad range of firefighters. The project involves extensive stress testing of sensors and AI algorithms to equip the suit with intelligent detection of human and object targets under extreme conditions. The team is conducting meetings and surveys to evaluate the perceptions of firefighters and the firefighting community related to exoskeleton adoption, safety considerations, potential for injury mitigation, and barriers faced by underrep­resented groups that deincentivize volunteering or pursuing firefighting as a career.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目调查了职业消防员和志愿消防员对自动化、自适应和智能消防员外骨骼服的采用和感知，以减轻伤害，提高工作场所安全，并解决代表性不足的群体（如女性消防员）所面临的挑战。鉴于消防员的关键作用，以及近三分之二的消防员是志愿者，因此必须延长消防员的寿命并留住他们，特别是在老龄化的农村社区。为了提高消防的安全性和包容性，该团队正在设计一种新型的外骨骼服，通过研究来自不同背景的消防员如何执行任务以及如何通过智能传感来了解环境，为各种消防员提供个性化服务。该团队正在与当地消防部门，参与消防安全的团体，参与制造低成本外骨骼开发设备和组件的公司以及倡导女性消防等代表性不足的团体的组织建立合作关系。通过这些联系，该团队正在收集有关消防员面临的挑战的信息，为消防综合适应性外骨骼服的设计提供信息。该项目对提高农村消防员和消防部门的安全性、生产力、寿命和包容性产生了直接影响，加强了消防员的保留和招聘，以提供这一基本的社会服务。该项目通过克拉克森代表性不足的专业机会社区支持的项目，为来自代表性不足的群体的妇女和学生提供研究机会。该团队整合了人体工程学，生物力学，动力学，控制，材料，结构，传感，用户界面，人工智能（AI）和社会学的专业知识，以在规划阶段实现项目目标。该团队正在进行研究，以分析消防员执行功能任务时的生物力学和人体工程学特征，同时由密集的多模态环境传感器记录。该团队正在合作设计一种集成的外骨骼服，根据需要协助消防员，并适应各种消防员。该项目涉及传感器和人工智能算法的广泛压力测试，以使该套装能够在极端条件下智能检测人类和物体目标。该团队正在进行会议和调查，以评估消防员和消防社区对外骨骼采用、安全考虑、减轻伤害的潜力、该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估被认为值得支持。影响审查标准。