Human power drive type simple search device that supports search activity in disaster area

Interest has grown in the potential application of robot technology at accident and disaster sites where there exists the possibility of secondary disasters, and much effort is being channeled into research in this area. Yet, much of this effort has been directed at advanced, expensive robot technologies. We have been looking at ways of realizing a readily applicable robot technology for such disaster sites, and propose a relatively low-cost rescue robot with simple, intuitive operation, that does not require power supply lines. We report on a simple search device based on a human-powered generator, an improved version of an earlier device using a direct mechanical drive for mobility.