SMART ROBOTIC FIREFIGHTING SYSTEM

BY

EKE CHIMERE GOODNESS 20151012873

DIKE JUDE CHIBUOYIM 20151018843

OKORO SIXTUS CHIJIOKE 20151010943

SUBMITTED TO

THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC

ENGINEERING

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, OWERRI (FUTO)

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

AWARD OF THE BACHELORS OF ENGINEERING

DEGREE (B. Eng.)

IN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC

ENGINEERING

August , 2021

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 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this work; “SMART ROBOTIC FIREFIGHTING SYSTEM”,

was carried out by EKE CHIMERE GOODNESS 20151012873, DIKE JUDE
CHIBUOYIM 20151018843, OKORO SIXTUS CHIJIOKE 20151010943 in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng)
degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Federal University of Technology,
Owerri.

Approved By

………................................ .…………………….
…….

ENGR. DR. C.C. MBAOCHA DATE

(Project Supervisor)

……………………………… ………………………….

ENGR. DR. N. CHUKWUCHEKWA DATE

(Head Of Department)

…………………………. …………………………..

EXTERNAL EXAMINER. DATE

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 DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to God, to whom all my strength comes from. You are my source
of knowledge, courage and inspiration; and to my dear parents: without their prayers,
encouragement and financial support we would be unable to complete this report.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Foremost, I express my gratitude to God Almighty for everything so far. He made this
possible. My sincere appreciation goes to my supervisor Engr. Dr. C.C Mbaocha for his
wonderful support, expert advice and amazing guidance throughout every phase of this
project.

I will never fail to celebrate and acknowledge my former HOD, Engr. Dr.Mrs I. E
Achumba ma you are a mother indeed, thank you for all the push, encouragement, and
assistance while you were in office, knowing you have been an added advantage to me
ma, God bless you more ma. I would like to express our deepest appreciation to my
current HOD Engr. Dr. N. Chukwuchekwa for the and to all my lecturers, for their
tutorship and assistance while I worked on this project and during my course of study,
you all inspire us as an outstanding men and women of principle and excellence. I also
send my regards to my course adviser Engr. Dr. S.N Akande, thank you for all you do.

My acknowledgement and gratitude also goes to my sponsor and father Mr. Adolphus
Okoro, daddy thank you for all the sponsorship and assistance even when I didn’t deserve
it, you are my hero and I promise to always make you proud.

To my mum Mrs. Georgeana Okoro and my dear sister Miss Joan Okoro, you are the
reason for all this push, I love you all and I promise to make you all proud.

Every student's project work owes a debt to their predecessors for their amazing works in
that field of study. I wish to acknowledge the authors of materials, and copyright owners
of all source of information referenced in this report.

Lastly, to all my friends that have been of great inspiration to me, I acknowledge you all
the list of names is long but I acknowledge you all, you all are the best.

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 ABSTRACT

Fire is one essential goods for human existence but it becomes a danger when it occurs
where it is not needed. The damage caused by fire disaster reflects in many ways and the
impact can be complex even to the economy itself. Nowadays, fire accidents are very
common and sometimes it becomes very hard for a fireman to protect lives and
properties. The primary objective of designing and fabricating the smart firefighting
system is to help the community in effective firefighting by sensing the fire and quickly
acting without heavy losses of life or property. The designed vehicle is able to detect
presence of fire and extinguishing it automatically by using temperature sensor and
gas sensors. To achieve the objective, previous works by different authors and
researchers were studied and improved upon. For the practical part, Arduino Uno
microcontroller was used as the control unit with other necessary components. Every
component is connected to the Arduino Uno microcontroller and a program code is
uploaded to the Arduino board.
The designed robot has a water spray attached to a water tank which is capable of
sprinkling water in 1800 angle. The sprinkler can be move towards the required direction.
At the time of moving towards the source of fire it may happen that it will come across
some obstacles. To avoid obstacles an android application was designed to control the
movement of the robot. Communication between the mobile phone and robot was
established using Bluetooth module. This has a graphical user Interface to control the
movement of the robot. It is feasible to implement Bluetooth communication between
smartphones and micro-controller. This project is recommended for everyday life
application such as in homes, market, companies etc.

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 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Fire: The light and heat and especially the flame produced by burning.

Fire detection: Ability to pin point the primary source of a fire incident.

Fire-fighting: Ability to control and arrest fire.

Accident: an unplanned unwanted event which results in unacceptable or ugly

consequences. Accidents are caused, they don’t just happen.

Hazard: The potential to cause harm to people, machine, product or environment.

Sensors: A device that can react to environmental factors such as light, heat pressure,
temperature etc.

Vin: This is the input voltage pin of the Arduino board used to provide input supply from
an external power source.
5V: This pin of the Arduino board is used as a regulated power supply voltage and it is
used to give supply to the board as well as onboard components.
3.3V: This pin of the board is used to provide a supply of 3.3V which is generated from a
voltage regulator on the board
GND: This pin of the board is used to ground the Arduino board.
Reset: This pin of the board is used to reset the microcontroller. It is used to Resets the
microcontroller.
Analog Pins: The pins A0 to A5 are used as an analog input and it is in the range of 0-
5V.
Digital Pins: The pins 0 to 13 are used as a digital input or output for the Arduino board.

Serial Pins: These pins are also known as a UART pin. It is used for communication
between the Arduino board and a computer or other devices. The transmitter pin number
1 and receiver pin number 0 is used to transmit and receive the data resp.

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External Interrupt Pins: This pin of the Arduino board is used to produce the External
interrupt and it is done by pin numbers 2 and 3.
PWM Pins: This pins of the board is used to convert the digital signal into an analog by
varying the width of the Pulse. The pin numbers 3,5,6,9,10 and 11 are used as a PWM
pin.
SPI Pins: This is the Serial Peripheral Interface pin. It is used to maintain SPI
communication with the help of the SPI library. SPI pins include:
SS: Pin number 10 is used as a Slave Select.
MOSI: Pin number 11 is used as a Master Out Slave In.
MISO: Pinnumber 12 is used as a Master In Slave Out.
SCK: Pin number 13 is used as a Serial Clock.
LED Pin: The board has an inbuilt LED using digital pin-13. The LED glows only when
the digital pin becomes high.
AREF Pin: This is an analog reference pin of the Arduino board. It is used to provide a
reference voltage from an external power supply.

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 LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATION

TX: Transmitter

RX: Receiver

IDE: Integrated development environment

PB: Port B

PC: Port C

GND: Ground

DO/DI: digital output and input

VCC: voltage common collector (positive voltage)

VDD: voltage drain

VEE: voltage Emitter

FFR: Fire-fighting robot

IoT: Internet of Things

AFFMP: Autonomous Fire Fighting Mobile platform

PWM: Pulse Wide Modulation

IR: Infra Red

TIC: thermal imaging camera

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Break Down of Project

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Table 3.1: Arduino UNO specifications

Table 3.2: Humidity Specifications

Table 3.2: Firefighting elements and their quantity

Table 3.3: Table listing pin configuration of L293D Motor Driver IC

Table 3.4: Truth Table of L293D Motor Driver IC

Table 3.5: Logic Table of L293D Motor Driver IC for a firefighting Robot

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1: Arduino UNO Characteristics 32

Figure 3.2: Arduino atmega328p Microcontroller 32
Figure 3.3: L293d Motor Driver 33
Figure 3.4: Dc Motor 33
Figure 3.5: Geared DC Motor 34
Figure 3.6: Temperature sensor 36
Figure 3.7: Servo Motor 37
Figure 3.8: Servor Motor Pulse Width Modulation
Figure 3.9: 9v Battery 34
Figure 3.10: 12V Battery 35
Figure 3.11: Bluetooth module 35
Figure 3.12: Jumper wires 36
Figure 3.13 Relay 36
Figure :3.14 LCD display 37
Figure 3.15 Gas Sensor 40
Figure 3.16 Flame Sensor 41
Figure 3.17 Buzzer 44
Figure 3.18 Led 45

Figure 3.19 Waterfall model 48

Figure 3.20: Block diagram of the smart robotic firefighter 49
Figure3.21: Block diagram of the robotic movement 50
Figure3.22: Flow chart of temperature sensor detections and Gas sensor detections 54
Figure 3.23: Circuit diagram of the smart robotic firefighter showing it’s interconnect 55
Figure 3.24: Setup for testing 60
Figure 3.25: Fire is Extinguished 62

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Figure 3.26: Android MITcode 68
Figure 3.27: Android Remote Application 69
Figure 3.28 Arduino IDE interface characteristics 70
Figure 4.1: Screenshot Of Arduino Simulator 82

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

i
CERTIFICATION
DEDICATION ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii
ABSTRACT iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v
LIST OF TABLES vi
LIST OF FIGURES vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ix
1

CHAPTER ONE
1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY 2

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT 3
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
1.4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
1.5 JUSTIFICATION 4
1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT
1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE PROJECT

CHAPTER TWO
6
LITERATURE REVIEW

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2.1 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS PROJECTS AND RESEARCH 6
WORKS ON SMART ROBOTIC FIREFIGHTING SYSTEM
2.1.1 Design of an autonomous firefighting robot introduced by 7
Linette Miller, Mathew Moore
2.1.2 Autonomous fire protection robot with notification 11
developed by Nor Ayuni Binti AbdMajid, (2004).
2.1.3 ALPHA I (Fire Fighting Robot) was designed by Anand 14
Mohan Misra, (2008).
2.1.4 Author Zervas developed a “Multisensor data fusion for 15
the fire detection”.
2.1.5 In the paper "Autonomous Fire Fighting Mobile platform",
Author Teh Nam Khoon proposed a novel design of an
autonomous robot.
2.16 Author H. P. Singh has developed an Autonomous
Industrial Fire Fighting Mobile Robot
2.17 Author Ratnesh Malik has developed an approach
towards firefighting robot in March 2012.
2.18 Author Kristi Kokasih has developed an intelligent
firefighting tank robot in
2.19 Swati Deshmukh has developed Wireless fire-fighting
robot.

2.2 SMART SENSORS 20

2.3 THE PRINCIPLE OF SMART FIRE FIGHTING 21

CHAPTER 3 28
MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY 28

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3.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.2 TOOLS AND MATERIALS
3.2.1 Arduino
3.2.2 L293d Driver
3.2.3 DC Motor
3.2.4 Temperature Sensor And Humidity sensor
3.2.5 Servo motor
3.2.6 Battery
3.2.7 Bluetooh module
3.2.8 Jumper wires
3.2.9 LCD Display
3.2.10 Smoke sensor
3.2.11 Flame sensor
3.2.12 Led
3.2.13 Buzzer
3.3 DESIGN OBJECTIVES 28
3.4 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 29
3.4.1 Cost 29
3.4.2 Ease of Use 29
3.4.3 Power Consumption 29
3.4.4 Architecture
3.4.5 Deconstruction
3.4.6 Branding And Packaging 29
3.4.7 29
3.5 DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS 30
3.5.1 Performance 30
3.5.2 Installation and Usage 30
3.5.3 Physical 30
3.5.4 Operating System 30
3.5.5 Cost 31

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3.6 BLOCK DIAGRAM 31
3.6.1 System Design 32
3.6.2 Software Development Plan 33
3.6.3 Agile Software Development Model 33
3.6.4 Application User Interface 35
3.7 FLOWCHART 37
3.8 CONNECTIONS 38
3.8.1 Table listins pin configuration of L293D Motor Driver
3.8.2 Truth Table of l293d Motor Driver
3.8.3 Logic table of l293d Motor Driver IC
3.8.4 Interconnecting individual firefighting Elements with Arduino 38
3.8.5 Schematic Diagram of Gas, Temperature Sensor 39
3.9 DEVELOPMENT AND CODING 42
3.3Programing language 45
3.3.1 Arduino Software IDE 45
3.3.2 Programming Basics 48
3.3 Void Setup
3,7 Void Loop

CHAPTER 4 56
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 56
4.1 HAEDWARE TESTING 56
4.2 SIMULAION
4.1.1 Arduino Simulation 63

CHAPTER 5 65
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 65
5.1 SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT RESULTS 65
5.2 CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED 66
5.3 RECOMMENDATION 66

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APPENDIX 68
REFERENCES 70

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Fire is one essential goods for human existence but it becomes a danger when it occurs
where it is not needed. The damage caused by fire disaster reflects in many ways and the
impact can be complex even to the economy itself. Fire outbreak is a major concern at
homes, offices, industries etc. It is dangerous and requires high security and control to
avoid destruction of lives and property. It is a disaster that can potentially cause the loss
of life, property damage and permanent disability to the affected victim. They can also
suffer from prolonged psychological and trauma. Fire fighters are primarily tasked to
handle fire incidents, but they are often exposed to higher risks when extinguishing fire,
especially in hazardous environments such as in nuclear power plant, petroleum refineries
and gas tanks. They are also faced with other difficulties, particularly if fire occurs in
narrow and restricted places, as it is necessary to explore the ruins of buildings and
obstacles to extinguish the fire and save the victim. With high barriers and risks in fire
extinguishment operations, technological innovations can be utilized to assist firefighting.
[1]

The good fire detection and fighting system should have more high anti-interference
ability to the fire alarm control panel. The application of this suggested system is used for
fire detection, sprinkler pre-action deluge and most conventional fire alarm applications
to prevent false alarm system. These days, development effort for the automated fire
detection system is increased rapidly and sensor-based detection forms the main category
of solution methodologies.

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The firefighting robot is based on the robotics technology and by using Arduino Uno
processor. Firefighting and rescue is recognized as a risky mission. Fire fighters face
risky situations when extinguishing fires and rescuing victims as it is an inevitable part of
being a fire fighter. As an electrical engineer our major role is to build-up or setup a
prototype model of the fire extinguishing robot which scans the flame and it would then
extinguish the fire immediately as per its capacity. In this paper we describe about how
the robot is to function when a fire accident takes place. Actually the robot is described to
extinguish the fire in the industries of the particular surfaces or dimensions, by the help of
the automatic water sprayer or blower fixed at the front of the robot. After that it then
sends an automatic message to the owner of the home. However, the mission is started
when it searches /scans the flame by taking note of the temperature and heat changes in
the environment.

Fire-fighting robot (FFR) is an autonomous ground vehicle that has been popularly
known to engineering students around the world. It has been contested annually in a
robotics student competition in many countries following the rules initiated at the Trinity
College, USA. The contest requires advanced mechatronics technology and knowledge
using a handy robot as an educational tool [2]. The task of an FFR is to simulate a real-
world operation of an autonomous robot performing a fire protection function in a real
house. Starting from a home noted by “H” circle, an FFR has to find its way through an
arena that represents a model house, find a lit candle that represents a fire in the house,
extinguish the fire in the shortest time, and return to its home within a specified time.
This paper presents one approach in designing an FFR using computer animation in a
virtual reality environment including one configuration example that consists of the
mechanical design of the vehicle, the choice and arrangement of sensors and actuators,
and the artificial intelligence of its controller. [3]

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Robot is a machine that works like a human being and performs various complex tasks.
There are many types of robots such as fixed base robot, mobile robot, underwater robot,
humanoid robot, space robot and medicine robot etc. In this paper a smart robotic fire-
fighter is proposed. This robot is equipped with a single flame sensor used to sense
environmental fire and feed the signals to the microcontroller in order to trigger the pump
which sprinkles water in order to extinguish the fire. This robot is controlled using a
mobile phone through an android application (Bluetooth nodule). This robot implements
the concepts of environmental fire sensing, proportional motor control. The motor driver
is used for the bidirectional control of the motors equipped in the robot. Most of the
instructions for motion control is given to the robot with the help of bluetooth
technology. Thus, the robot processes information from its various key hardware
elements such as flame sensor, bluetooth module via Arduino Uno board
(microcontroller). The programming of the robot is done using the Arduino C which is
derived from C and C++ languages.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Over the years, throughout the world, fire losses remain high and firefighting is strenuous
and dangerous. Training and research programs have been developed to confront the
challenges in firefighting, whilst there are still significant losses from fires each year. The
entire direct and indirect cost of fire losses as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product in
the world is estimated to up to 1% annually [1].

Fire-fighting is an important but dangerous occupation. A fire-fighter must be able to get

to a fire quickly and safely extinguish the fire, preventing further damage and reduce
fatalities. Technology has finally bridged the gap between firefighting and machines
allowing for a more efficient and effective method of firefighting. During the last two
decades, there is a growing conception in both scientific and technological domains that
being “smart” means to significantly enhance the autonomy of the system, in a manner
16
that troublesome human errors can be sufficiently avoided. As indicated above, the
concept of “smart” should contain the system autonomy and, more importantly, system
resiliency to many possible internal disturbances as well as external structured and
unstructured dynamics. In this regard, smart can be featured as physical and cognitive
integration and interactions of humans, machines as well as organizations to boost the
system performance and manipulate the system resilience. Exposure to the hazardous and
chaotic fire environment, rather than to the fire itself, is the most significant cause of
injury and death in fires. The reachability of precise information in real-time on the
conditions directly at the centre of the fire ground is a crucial factor in the guidance of
rescue actions together with feasible counter-plans. [3] The existing FFR seems to lack
the “smart” attribute which is simply the ability to gather data from its immediate
environment, process the given data and deliver and act on the given data. [4]

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The primary objective of the project is to design and develop a robot with the ability to
track and find the fire source and extinguish without direct contact. The fire source can be
extinguished automatically. This project is an integration of various features:

a) Fire Detection: The fire is detected using flame sensors.

b) Fire Extinguishing: For the purpose of extinguishing the fire, a fire extinguisher
can.
c) Automatic fire alarm system.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

This project work focuses on a firefighting robot which is equipped with a flame sensor
used to sense fire in a given environment and feed the signals to the microcontroller in

17
order to trigger the pump which sprinkles water in order to extinguish the fire. This robot
is controlled using an Arduino UNO microcontroller Atmega 328p.

1.5 JUSTIFICATION

As earlier stated, this project focuses on the design and development of a robot that can
run semi-autonomously with the abilities of tracking the source of fire and extinguishing
it without direct contact. Undertaking this project, is therefore justified in the fact that it
proposes an automatic fire detection and fighting system which provides real-time
surveillance, monitoring and automatic alarm. It is a cost effective way of fire protection
and can identify a developing fire emergency in a timely manner and alert the building's
occupants and fire emergency organizations. The benefits of this project cannot be over
emphasized. The life span of the robot is about 4-5 years’ average. Therefore, the full
monetary value of the fire-fighting robot will have been utilized by the time the need for
a complete replacement arises.

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1. The importance of this project is to increase safety associated with firefighting.

2. To create a way to check for fires without involving human beings directly such that
they are not exposed to any threats.

3. To be capable of traversing an area without any concerns about inhaling smoke or

burning at any point during the exploration.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE PROJECT

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This project report is organized in a very logical and systematic order. The basic

knowledge of design is properly treated and a step by step guide through the design

methodology is given. Subject matters that are related in nature follow each other to

give a clear picture of how this project can be actualized by any technically inclined

electrical or electronic engineer who is interested in designing a similar system to the

one designed here. This chapter introduces fire-fighting and smart robotic fire-fighting

system as the best in terms of fire detection and extinguishing it without direct contact.

The goal, objectives, scope and justification for undertaking the project are discussed

here.

The next chapter is the literature review, which tends to give insight into the

fundamentals of fire-fighting and fire-fighting mechanisms. Related works (researches

and projects alike) carried out in the field of fire detection and fighting are discussed.

Chapter three discusses the methodology used for achieving the design. A detailed
explanation of the design procedure is given and design calculations are done to
determine certain parameters. The proposed methodology in this section also constitutes
of the block diagram and components and their explanation. Hardware and software
details are included.

In the next chapter, the resulting parameters are summarized and discussed. The
considerations that led to certain approximations and choice of parameters are presented
and the working design architecture is proposed. Also, an installation guide is given in
case the project is to be implemented. The final chapter concludes the report and gives

19
recommendations, which forms the basis of how further research work can improve the
project’s outcome.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

For many years, robotics has become popular in many ways because of its variety of
design and technological advancement. Our motivation to design a fire fighter robot is to
help the community in effectively firefighting by sensing the fire and quickly acting
without heavy losses of property or life. In some projects a tracking line is assigned for
the robot to follow these paths to extinguish the fire. In some designs ultrasonic sensors
are used. When it comes to simulation of this design it will make it difficult to implement
it in real time situations. From the different projects reviewed, certain objectives helped
us to choose a popular technique to fight fire efficiently by controlling it remotely by
wireless technology application and using two main sensors which are temperature
sensors and gas sensors due to their ability to detect fire and fire extinguisher pump.

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2.1 Review of Previous Projects and Research works on smart robotic firefighting
system

There are a lot of documented inventions and research works on smart robotic
firefighting systems with different approaches and discussed below is a few provided by
some authors:

2.1.2 Design of an autonomous firefighting robot introduced by Linette Miller,

Mathew Moore.

This robot was created to complete in the IEEE southeaston 2003 hardware competition.
The system proposed the development of each component of the robot is that is designed
to find a small fire represented by a light emitting diode in a model home and
extinguishing it. The robot was initially lowered in the designated home area and will
start within 30 seconds upon hearing the starting signal. this design allowed for the robot
to used line following. The small fire is represented by a cylindrical red object with six
red light emitting diodes(LED). The candle can be found in any one of the four rooms
respectively.

2.1.3 Autonomous fire protection robot with notification developed by Nor Ayuni
Binti AbdMajid, (2004).

In this proposed system is an intelligent multi sensor based security system that contains
a fire fighting robot in our day to day life. The destructive burnt cause by electrical is the
highest source in it. Besides, user had difficulties to detect the small burnt cause by
electrical appliances. User may take a late time to extinguish fire like finding the water

21
source to extinguish fire when want to extinguish the fire. So, “Autonomous Fire
Protection Robot with Notification” design with extinguisher for the intelligent building
to control by microcontroller PIC18F4550 and supported by autonomous board
CYTRON SK40C board and another additional circuit. This robot equipped with 3 LDR
sensor where each sensors has its own function and control by PIC18F4550. This robot
will move to the fire source when the LDR sensor detected the fire and it will send
message to any phone of the GSM network through the modern connected to the
programmable device. This robot is also programmed to stop before the robot hit the
flame. This robot also can extinguish fire at 45 degrees for upper side and 45 degrees for
lower side. This robot is implicated the function of finger to clip the fire extinguisher
clipper.

2.1.4 ALPHA I (Fire Fighting Robot) was designed by Anand Mohan Misra, (2008).

It detects the fire via RF module by human controlling it from the very distance. ALPHA
I equipped with the camera for the display and is controlled through RF receiver which is
placed on its body and RF transmitter which works as a medium for the controlling
actions. This ALPHA I robot can be used for dangerous tasks, such as disarming bombs
and extinguishing fire. They can work where it is too dangerous for human beings. A
primary purpose of this undertaking is to provide an incentive for the robotics community
to develop what will be a practical application for a real world. ALPHA I is the outcome
of combined functioning of various modules. Also, US Navy unveiled its latest prototype
robot named Humanoid robot, which is a 5-foot and 10 two-legged robots which can see
through dense smoke and carry a house on its own. Ballam is an autonomous fire-fighter
machine, where its mission is to follow firefighters into battle, carrying stuff that either
too heavy or to offer personnel break from backpack and equipment toting. On the other
hand, researchers at MIT in Cambridge, working on the fire-fighter robot called Atlas.
This research project is ongoing and aims to design and implement a robot machine that

22
can walk into dangerous places and do something useful there (for instance rescue
civilians). As noticed above, most of the proposed systems suffer from either the design
complexity or high cost. This work aims to design and implement a low-cost prototype
robotic system which will be able to navigate firefighters to a safe root, and to localize
civilians’ positions indoors.

In today’s era fire-fighting is a dangerous issue. Many authors are working on different
techniques for fire-fighting. Several losses occur due to fire. Fire becomes the biggest
disaster if it takes place near any forest area, petrol pump, gas line and any educational
place. If the fire is not extinguished initially, it can harm a huge number of people as well
as areas. We are here to contribute one further step in the development of a fire-fighting
robot. We have invented a simple household robot which can take place in everyone
houses, every shop and malls and other common but crowded areas easily. We have used
an ultrasonic sensor, a smoke sensor, and a temperature sensor. There is a microcontroller
which is used to control all the electronic devices working when power is supplied to
them through battery. It uses water as extinguishing medium. It is fully automatic but
depends on a switch to control its overall activity. If switch is off so it will be a mere toy
but when we leave it with the switch on its sensors are always able to sense the fire
source continuously. Once it detects any fire source, it starts a move towards that source
and when it reaches the location according to the pre command given to it; starts
sprinkling the water on source until the fire exhausts. We have used the ultrasonic sensor
to maintain the proper distance between the robot and fire source. Now day’s fully
automated robots are developed. Some of them with the different technologies from past
years are given below:

2.1.5 Author Zervas developed a “Multisensor data fusion for the fire detection”.

Here he takes the example of forest fire. He says if forest fire is detected using the
temperature, humidity and vision sensor, probability of fire blow-out can be reduced or
23
closed. It is profitable to county government as well as for the citizens who establish
there. By this robot a proper result is perform and this data is fused with the fusion
sensors that monitor the same graphical area. [1].

2.1.6 In the paper "Autonomous Fire Fighting Mobile platform", Author Teh Nam
Khoon proposed a novel design of an autonomous robot.

This robot, called AFFMP, has a flame sensor and an obstacle avoidance system.
Working of this robot is totally based on programming. The AFFMP follows a preset
path through a building and uses a guide rail or markers such as black painted line or a
tape to navigate through the environment until it detects an elevated possibility of a fire.
But when it senses any fire activity within its range, at that point it will leave its track and
follow the fire. Its range to detect fire is up to-30cm from it. Then it would unlock the fire
extinguisher that is mounted on it. If there is any blockage or it has diverted from its route
during fire extinguishing, the obstacle avoidance will start to perform and it will be able
to guide the AFFMP to reach to the fire point again. When it has blown-out the fire
completely then it returns to its guiding track to continue again with its further
investigation of any other fire sources, automation, sensor.

2.1.7 Author H. P. Singh has developed an Autonomous Industrial Fire Fighting

Mobile Robot.

He said that the system contains two optically isolated D.C. motors. This robot is based
on analog to digital converter. Whatever data is provided to the robot via infrared sensor,
it converts data from analog to digital signals. There are five infrared sensors used. Two
sensors control the motion of the robots and three are for flame detection. Except these
sensors, it uses water to extinguish the fire. It also contains a D.C. water pump as well as
a water container. The main task of the robot is to sense the flames or fire and extinguish
it. For the task, infrared sensor is used. This sensor is used for input the data which come
in the form of rays (these rays is generate from the fire and sensed by the infrared sensor).
24
Microcontroller is used to control the robot by controlling its sensors as well as other
electrical and electronic devices. [3]

2.1.8 Author Ratnesh Malik has developed an approach towards firefighting robot
in March 2012.

This robot is designed and constructed and sense the flame and extinguishes the fire. The
robot is fully autonomous. It implements the concept of environmental sensing and
awareness of proportional motor control. The robots flow of information from its sensors
and hardware elements. He introduced Ultraviolet, Infrared and visible light to detect the
components present in the environment. The robot is capable of extinguishing tunnel fire,
industrial fire. It is designed and built for military applications too. i.e. it is able to blow-
out a fire that occurs due to military war. It contains Ultraviolet sensors which are used to
detect fire. He has programmed an alarm in it, thus if fire is detected by ultraviolet
sensors, robot rings alarm to alert others and also simultaneously comes into inactivation.
Once it comes in active mode, it also activates an electronic valve which release sprinkles
of water on the flame until the robot sensors input the information of fire extinguished.
[4].

2.1.9 Author Kristi Kokasih has developed an intelligent firefighting tank robot in
2010. Materials use to manufacturing the tank robot is acrylic, plastic, aluminum and
iron. Robot consists various components like: two servo motors, two DC motors,
ultrasonic sensor, compass sensors, flame detector, thermal array sensor, white detector
(IR and phototransistor), sound activation circuit and micro-switch sensor. The objective
behind this invention is to search fire affected area and extinguish the flame from
different flame positions. It can work in room configuration with disturbance. Robot is
based on the principle of dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling transmitter and
receiver [5].

2.1.10 Swati Deshmukh has developed Wireless fire-fighting robot.

25
It is the combination of machines which has ability to detect fire and extinguish it. This
fire-fighting robot can move in both directions: forward as well as reverse direction and
also can rotated in right and left directions. So fire-fighters can operate the robot over a
long distance. This robot does not require any human handling, so there is no need of a
human stay near the area of fire. That fire-fighter can also save others as well as their
own life in fire disasters. She uses light dependent resistors for detection of fire which are
highly sensitive devices and are capable of detecting very small fire. This robot can
provide security at home, buildings, factory and laboratory. It is an intelligent multi-
sensor based fire security system as fire alarm and also contains fire-fighting system for
daily life. [6].

2.2 SMART SENSORS

A smart Sensor is a device that takes input from the physical environment and uses built-
in compute resources to perform predefined functions upon detection of specific input
and then process data before passing it on. Smart sensors enable more accurate and
automated collection of environmental collection of environmental data with less
erroneous noise amongst the accurately recorded information. These devices are used for
monitoring and control mechanisms in a wide variety of environments including smart
grids, battlefield reconnaissance, exploration and a number of science applications.

A smart sensor may also include a number of other components besides the primary
sensors. These components can include transducers, amplifiers, excitation control, analog
filters and compensation. A smart sensor also incorporates software-defined elements that
provide functions such as data conversion, digital processing and communication to
external devices.

A good Smart fire detection and fighting systems should be simple, less expensive and
effective to handle deceptive fire scenarios. It is also effective for easy fire hazard
occurrence detection. The addressable detectors shall be connected via transmitted to the
26
control unit where decisions are taken. A fire detection system, which will be self-
monitoring and the system is easy to install and maintain system. There are four basic
types of fire detector sensors which initiates devices to detect flame, smoke, heat, and fire
gases. Parameters such as temperature and air movement are as relevant to fire detection
as the maintenance of the indoor working environment.

2.3 THE PRINCIPLE OF SMART FIRE FIGHTING

The lifeblood of smart firefighting is data derived from the immediate environment.

Everything about smart firefighting revolves around and is enabled by three primary
realms of focus: gathering data, processing data and delivering data.

a) Gathering data require sensors that collect and harness the data. With the
proliferation of the IoT, our world today is becoming increasingly sensor-rich and
this continues to quickly become the least of the challenges. The bigger question is
what we will be doing with this data.
b) Processing data is sometimes relatively straight forward (eg. comparison of
spreadsheets); conversely at other times, it can be very complex (eg. Real-time fire
modelling). Ultimately, this is the process that makes the data useable and
relevant.
c) Delivering the data, also referred to as targeted decision-making is arguably the
most underappreciated component of the smart firefighting ecosystem. It is
essential to process the data and deliver it to those who need it, the way they need
it, when they need it, and nothing more. In the time critical environment of the fire
ground, it’s paramount that fire fighters are not overloaded with superfluous
details. The final communication must be simple, precise and relevant to be of
value. Targeted decision-making is an essential characteristic of smart firefighting.

27
 At best drowning in data accomplishes nothing at worst, it is a dangerous
distraction that can compromise safety and effectiveness. [6]

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Methodology Overview

Methodology involves a process whereby the existing or current system is studied to

identify the information requirements. It is used to refer to a specific series of steps or
procedures which governs the analysis and design of a particular project. It also includes
the techniques and methods which are used to collect and analyze Information. A
methodology offers the theoretical underpinning for understanding which method, set of
methods, or best practices that can be applied from the beginning to the completion of the
development of the software process.

3.2 Steps involved in Methodology

a) Tools/Materials

b) Design

c) Development & Coding

28
The main controlling unit is the ARDUINO UNO Atmega 328P, which is interfaced with
various firefighting elements. The fire sensing unit consist of temperature sensor, smoke
sensor and flame sensor. Other firefighting elements like motors and motor driving unit
L298 as per the requirement Arduino can control the motors. Accompanied with the
servo motors which gives the direction of the pump

3.3 Tools/Materials

Firefighting Elements

a) Arduino UNO Atmega 328P

b) Smoke Sensor
c) Temperature sensor
d) DC Motor
e) L293d motor driver
f) Servo motor
g) 5v Water pump
h) Connecting Wires
i) Bluetooth module
j) Power Supply module

3.3.0 ARDUINO UNO MICROCONTROLLER

The characteristics of the Arduino Uno are shown below in figure 3.1. Arduino Uno is a
microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P. It can operate on the external supply of
29
6 – 20 volts, but the recommended range is from 7 to 12 volts (if the board is supplied
less than 7 volts, the 5V pin may deliver less than 5 volts, it would not be stable to use,
and if using more than 12V may cause the board to overheat and damaged). It has 14
digital input/output pins that can operate at 5 volts; 6 analog inputs labeled from A0 to
A5. A 16 MHz quartz crystal, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a
reset button. It contains everything needed for the microcontroller to work; just connect
the Arduino board to a computer with a USB cable or supply its power through an AC-to-
DC adapter or connect to the battery to get started. (Arduino, n.d.)

3.3.1 ELEMENTS OF ARDUINO BOARDS

Elements of an Arduino Board can be done into two categories:

a) Hardware
b) Software
The Arduino Development Board consists of many components that together
makes it work. Here are some of those main component blocks that help in its
functioning:

a) Microcontroller: This is the heart of the development board, which works

as a mini computer and can receive as well as send information or command
to the peripheral devices connected to it. The microcontroller used differs
from board to board; it also has its own various specifications.

b) External Power Supply: This power supply is used to power the Arduino
development board with a regulated voltage ranging from 9 – 12 volts.
c) USB plug: This plug is a very important port in this board. It is used to
upload (burn) a program to the microcontroller using a USB cable. It also
has a regulated power of 5V which also powers the Arduino board in cases
when the External Power Supply is absent.
30
d) Internal Programmer: The developed software code can be uploaded to the
microcontroller via USB port, without an external programmer.
e) Reset button: This button is present on the board and can be used to resets
the Arduino microcontroller.

f) Analog Pins: There are some analog input pins ranging from A0 – A7
(typical). These pins are used for the analog input / output. The no. of analog
pins also varies from board to board.

g) Digital I/O Pins: There are some digital input pins also ranging from 2 to 16
(typical). These pins are used for the digital input / output. The no. of these
digital pins also varies from board to board.

h) Power and GND Pins: There are pins on the development board that
provide 3.3, 5 volts and ground through them.

31
Figure 3.1 Arduino UNO Characteristics

32
 Fig 3.2 Arduino atmega328p Microcontroller

Below is the Arduino UNO specifications;

Table 3.1: Arduino UNO specifications

Microcontroller ATmega328p

Operating voltage 5V

Input Voltage 7-12V (recommended)

Digital I/O pins 14

Analog pins 6

Flash memory 32KB

3.3.3 MOTOR
SRAM 2KB
DRIVER
EEPROM 1KB
Motor Driver L293D is
Clock speed 16MHz a typical Motor Driver

33
IC that allows DC motor to drive on either direction. L293D could be a 16-pin IC
which can control a group of 2 DC motors simultaneously in any direction. It means
you'll be able to management 2 DC motor with one L293D
Fig. 3.3 L293d Motor Driver

3.3.4 DC MOTOR

A DC motor is any of a class of electrical machines that converts direct current

electrical power into mechanical power. The most common types rely on the
forces produced by magnetic fields. Nearly all types of DC motors have some
internal mechanism, either electromechanical or electronic;

Figure 3.4: Dc Motor

TYPES OF DC MOTOR

Brush DC Motor
Brushless DC Motor
Servo Motor
Geared DC Motor

34
GEARED DC MOTOR

Geared DC motors can be defined as an extension of DC motor which already had its
Insight details demystified before. A geared DC Motor has a gear assembly
attached to the motor

Fig. 3.5: Geared DC Motor

3.3. TEMPERATURE SENSOR

DHT11 Temperature &

Humidity Sensor features
a temperature & humidity
sensorcomplex with a
calibrated digital signal
output. By using the
exclusive digital-signal-acquisition technique and temperature &
humidity sensing technology, it ensures high reliability and excellent
long-term stability. This sensor includes a resistive-type humidity
measurement component and an NTC temperature measurement
component, and connects to a high- performance 8-bit microcontroller,
offering excellent quality, fast response, anti-interference ability and
cost-effectiveness. Each DHT11 element is strictly calibrated in the

35
 laboratory that is extremely accurate on humidity calibration.

Fig 3.6 Temperature And Humidity Sensor

Table 3.2: Humidity Specifications

Item Measurement Humidity Temperature Resolution Package

Range Accuracy Accuracy
DHT11 20-90%RH ±5％RH ±2℃ 1 4 Pin
0-50 ℃ Single
Row

SERVO MOTOR

A servo motor is a type of motor that can rotate with great precision.
Normally this type of motor consists of a control circuit that provides

36
 feedback on the current position of the motor shaft, this feedback
allows the servo motors to rotate with great precision. If you want to
rotate an object at some specific angles or distance, then you use a
servo motor. It is just made up of a simple motor which runs through a
servo mechanism. If motor is powered by a DC power supply then it
is called DC servo motor, and if it is AC-powered motor then it is
called AC servo motor. For this tutorial, we will be discussing only
about the DC servo motor working

Fig. 3.7 :A Servo DC Motor.

Servo Motor Working Mechanism

It consists of three parts:

1. Controlled device
2. Output sensor
3. Feedback system

It is a closed-loop system where it uses a positive feedback system to

control motion and the final position of the shaft. Here the device is

37
 controlled by a feedback signal generated by comparing output signal and
reference input signal. Here reference input signal is compared to the reference
output signal and the third signal is produced by the feedback system. And this
third signal acts as an input signal to the control the device. This signal is present
as long as the feedback signal is generated or there is a difference between the
reference input signal and reference output signal. So the main task of
servomechanism is to maintain the output of a system at the desired value at
presence of noises

Servo Motor Working Principle

All motors have three wires coming out of them. Out of which two will be
used for Supply (positive and negative) and one will be used for the signal
that is to be sent from the MCU.

Servo motor is controlled by PWM (Pulse with Modulation) which is

provided by the control wires. There is a minimum pulse, a maximum
pulse and a repetition rate. Servo motor can turn 90 degree from either
direction form its neutral position. The servo motor expects to see a pulse
every 20 milliseconds (ms) and the length of the pulse will determine how
far the motor turns. For example, a 1.5ms pulse will make the motor turn
to the 90° position, such as if pulse is shorter than 1.5ms shaft moves to 0°
and if it is longer than 1.5ms than it will turn the servo to 180°.
Servo motor works on PWM (Pulse width modulation) principle, means
its angle of rotation is controlled by the duration of applied pulse to its
Control PIN. Basically servo motor is made up of DC motor which is
controlled by a variable resistor (potentiometer) and some gears. High

38
 speed force of DC motor is converted into torque by Gears. We know that
WORK= FORCE X DISTANCE, in DC motor Force is less and distance
(speed) is high and in Servo, force is High and distance is less. The
potentiometer is connected to the output shaft of the Servo, to calculate the
angle and stop the DC motor on the required angle.

Fig 3.8. Servor Motor Pulse Width Modulation

Servo motor can be rotated from 0 to 180 degrees, but it can go up to 210
degrees, depending on the manufacturing. This degree of rotation can be
controlled by applying the Electrical Pulse of proper width, to its Control
pin. Servo checks the pulse in every 20 milliseconds. The pulse of 1 ms (1
millisecond) width can rotate the servo to 0 degrees, 1.5ms can rotate to 90
degrees (neutral position) and 2 ms pulse can rotate it to 180 degree. All
servo motors work directly with your +5V supply rails but we have to be
careful about the amount of current the motor would consume if you are
planning to use more than two servo motors a proper servo shield should
be designed.

3.3.6 BATTERY

39
DC stands for 'direct current' which means the current only flows in one direction.
Batteries and electronic devices like TVs, computers and DVD players use DC
electricity - once an AC current enters a device, it's converted to DC. A typical battery
supplies around 1.5 volts of DC.

Fig.3.9: 9v Battery Fig. 3.10: 12V Battery

3.3.7 BLUETOOTH MODULE

A Bluetooth module is usually a hardware component that provides a wireless product
to work with the computer; or in some cases, the Bluetooth module can serve as an
interface accessory or peripheral for wireless devices and the computer.

Figure 3.11: Bluetooth module

3.3.8 JUMPER WIRES

A jump wire (also known as jumper, jumper wire, jumper cable, DuPont wire or
cable) is an electrical wire, or group of them in a cable, with a connector or pin at each

40
end (or sometimes without them – simply "tinned"), which is normally used to
interconnect the components of a breadboard or other prototype or test

3.3.9
3.3.10 16x2 LCD

Liquid Crystal Display, abbreviated LCD, is a display module technology that

generally used in TVs, monitors, tablets, and smartphones, ...

Figure 3.13. 16x2 LCD screen characteristics

The 16x2 LCD has total 16 pins, there are (from left to right):
- VSS (Ground): ground pin to connect the system ground
- Vdd (+5 Volt): supply voltage (4.7V – 5.3V).
- VE: adjust the contrast level.
- Register Select (RS): selects between the command and data register.
- Read/Write: used to read or write the data.
- Enable: control the data send to data pin.
- Data pin 0 – 7: 8 bits data pins.
- LED + and LED -: backlight LED power

41
supply. (16x2 LCD datasheet, 2008).

42
 Figure 3.14 16x2 LCD screen

SMOKE SENSOR

A normal fire alarm system usually has a smoke detector or a point heat detector.
In this project, the author used an MQ-2 gas sensor as a smoke detector and IR
flame sensor. The reason a temperature sensor was notused is after some testing,
the author found they did not work stably so the IR flame sensor was used instead.
The sensitivity of the sensor can be tuned via the potentiometer below the gas
sensor module. Figure 15 shows the MQ-2 sensor used in the project.

Figure 3.15 MQ-2 gas sensor

43
FLAME SENSOR

A fire sensor module contains a fire sensor (IR receiver), resistor, capacitor,
potentiometer at the bottom, and comparator LM393 as an integrated circuit. It
can recognize infrared light with a wavelength running from 700nm to 1000nm.
The fire probe converts the light detected distinguished as infrared light into the
current changes. Sensitivity is tuned via the on-board resistor with a detection
angle of 60 degrees. (pcboard, n.d.).

Figure 16 shows the IR flame sensor used in this project.

Figure 3.16. IR flame sensor

LED and Buzzer

For the demonstration purpose, an LED and an electromagnetic buzzer were used
in this project as an alarm and warning method. To be more effective in real life
situation, an alarm light and a high voltage alarm can be used with relay module.
Figure 17 and 18 show the buzzer and the LED used in this project respectively

44
.

45
3.4 DESIGN

System development methodology is a formalized, standardized, documented set of

activities used to manage a system development project. It refers to the framework that is
used to structure, plan and control the process of developing an information system. One
system development methodology is not necessarily suitable for use by all projects as
each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Each of the available methodologies is best
suited to specific kinds of projects based on various technical, organizational, project and
team consideration.
There are several system development approaches which include waterfall or sequential
approach, prototyping model, incremental model, spiral model, rapid application
development (RAD) and agile methodologies.
The waterfall approach, also known as the traditional approach will be used for this
project. The waterfall model comprises of different phases. These phases include
preliminary investigation, requirement analysis, system analysis, system design, system
development, system testing and system implementation.

Waterfall model

Preliminary investigation
Requirements definition
System design

System development

System testing
System implementation
46
 Figure 3.19 Waterfall model

The waterfall model was employed in this project for its orderly sequence of
development steps and its design review help ensure quality, reliability, adequacy of the
system been developed. The progress of the system development is also measurable with
the waterfall model.

3.5 DESIGN OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of the project is to design and develop a vehicle that can run semi-
autonomously with the ability to track and find the fire source and extinguish without
direct contact. Then the fire source can be extinguished automatically. This project is an
integration of various features:

a) Fire Detection: The fire is detected using flame sensors.

b) Fire Extinguishing: For the purpose of extinguishing the fire, a fire extinguisher
can is installed.

3.6 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

The following factors were considered in the design of the smart robotic firefighter:
A) Cost
The overall cost of development of a smart robotic firefighting system was one of the
primary factors which must be considered during the design process. The cost
requirement of purchasing an Arduino UNO microcontroller, building an android

47
application with java to control the movement of the robot and the cost of getting other
essential components like the chassis, motors and sensors to mention but a few.

B) Ease of Use

The smart firefighting robot must be easy to use and the android application
intuitive considering that it is intended for students who have most likely had no
prior experience with programming. The Application has four major interfaces
which are labelled on top and are visible to the users after they might have
launched the application.

C) Power Consumption
The components of the robot consume an average of 12V power. Also the
Application is a simple Android-Based Application using basic built in android
class, layout and views this reduces the rate at which the application consumes
user’s battery considering the present state of Nigeria’s Power Sector.

D) Architecture

Simple technology is deployed in the fabrication process. The chassis is built

from wood for strength and durability. Also the other components employed are
basic electronics components. Easy to install and monitor. The Arduino UNO
board is relatively easy to program and implement.

E) Deconstruction

The components of the smart robotic firefighter are easy to take apart, fix, reuse
and recycle.

F) Branding and Packaging

The robot is packaged with wood for protection of the firefighting elements and
48
for durability.

Table 3.2 Firefighting elements and their quantity

COMPONENT QUANTITY
Arduino Uno Atmega 1
328 3.7 DE
SI
Gas Sensors 1
GN
Geared DC motor 4
L293d motor driver 1
IC
Battery – 12V 1
Connecting Wires As required
Voltage Regulator- 1
12V, 5V
Resistor- 1K 1
Voltage regulator – Each one
7805 and 7812
Robot chassis and wheels which suits the robot chassis and motor
size.

SPECIFICATIONS

The following are the anticipated characteristics of the system or the qualities
the system is expected to satisfy.

3.7.9 Performance
The overall performance of the android application is taken into account.

3.7.9.1Fast response time: The response time of the various user click must
49
 be fast, no delay is experienced between the time of click on a view and
its response.
3.7.9.2Accuracy: Irrespective of the time or situation, accurate result are
always the outcome of the computation done in the application.
3.7.9.3Flexibility: Program is flexible to accommodate for updates to meet
user’s future specifications.

3.7.10 Installation and Usage

3.7.10.1 Installation: software is easy to install without violating any user software
standards.
3.7.10.2 User-friendly: The Application must be easy to use and can be
used technologically unskilled (computer illiterate) person without
difficulty.
3.7.10.3 Portability: The application can be installed in as many android smart
phones as possible.
3.7.10.4 Availability: The application can be easily transferred and
downloaded from the internet.
3.7.11 Physical
3.7.11.1 Application size is about 29MB
3.7.11.2 Minimum API Level Support is API 19: Android 4.4 (Kitkat
3.7.12 Operating System
The fire fighter Application Runs on the Android Operating System.

3.7.13 Battery and Power supply specifications

In the circuit, Arduino board and fire sensors need a 5V regulated DC for their operation
while the motor driver ICs needs 12V DC.

3.8 Block Diagram description of the Smart Robotic Firefighting System

50
 Bluetooth module

ARDUINO
Motors, UNO
Microcontroller Smart
pumps and
Sensors
drivers (CONTROL
UNIT)

Power supply module

Fig 3.20 Block Diagram of the smart robotic firefighter

Key: direct connection,

Exchange information between units

51
Fig. 3.22: Flowchart of Temperature Sensor Detection and Gas Sensor Detection

1.1 Robot Direction Control

The block diagrams of forward and backward robotic movement are shown in Fig 3.21
below, in which android cell phone is connected to the robot via the Bluetooth module
and the android application is used to move the robot to any direction.

Fig.3.21: Block diagram of Robot Movement

52
Fig. 3.23. Schematic Diagram of Gas, Temperature Sensor Detection

3.9 Circuit Connections

The control circuitry is built around Arduino UNO. The fire sensors and motor
driver ICs are interfaced to the controller board.

53
 The circuit is made by assembling the following components together –

3.8.9.1Power Supply – In the circuit, Arduino board and fire sensors need a 5V
regulated DC for their operation while the motor driver ICs needs 12V DC.
A 12V NIMH battery is used as the primary source of power. The supply
from the battery is regulated to 5V and 12V using 7805 and 7812 ICs. The
pin 1 of both the voltage regulator ICs is connected to the anode of the
battery and pin 2 of both ICs is connected to ground.

The respective voltage outputs are drawn from pin 3 of the respective voltage
regulator ICs. An LED along with a 10K Ω pull-up resistor is also connected
between common ground and output pin to get a visual hint of supply
continuity. Despite using 12V battery, 7812 is used to provide a regulated and
stable supply to the motor driver IC.

3.8.9.2Arduino UNO – Arduino UNO is one of the most popular prototyping

boards. It is used frequently in robotic applications as it is small in size and
packed with rich features. The board comes with built-in arduino boot
loader. It is an Atmega 328 based controller board which has 14 GPIO pins, 6
PWM pins, 6 Analog inputs and on board UART, SPI and TWI interfaces. In
this project, three analog input pins of the board are utilized to connect fire
sensors and 6 GPIO pins are used to interface L293D motor driver ICs.

3.8.9.3L293D DC Motor Driver IC – The L293D is a dual H-bridge motor driver

integrated circuit (IC). The Motor drivers act as current amplifiers since
they take a low-current control signal and provide a higher-current signal.
This higher current signal is used to drive the motors. It has 16 pins with
following pin configuration:

54
 Table 3.3: Table listing pin configuration of L293D Motor Driver IC

For robot’s motion, there are four DC motors used. The DC motors are
interfaced between pins 3 and 6 and pins 14 and 11 of one of the motor driver
IC.
The L293D IC controls the DC Motors according to the following truth tables:

Table 3.4: Truth Table of L293D Motor Driver IC

55
 The pin 4, 5, 13 and 12 of the L293D controlling DC motors for robot’s
navigation are grounded while pins 1, 16 and 9 are connected to 5V DC and
pin 8 is connected to 12V DC. The pins 15, 2, 7 and 10 of this motor driver IC
are connected to pins 8, 2, 3 and 7 of the Arduino board. The DC motor
attached to right wheel is connected to pins 11 and 14 while motor attached to
left wheel is connected to pins 3 and 6 of the motor driver IC Another L293D
IC is used to control a DC motor used for running a fan or pump. The pin 4, 5,
13 and 12 of this L293D IC are grounded while pins 1, 16 and 9 are connected
to 5V DC and pin 8 is connected to 12V DC. The motor fan is connected
between pins 3 and 6 of this IC and the pins 2 and 7 of this motor driver IC are
connected to pins 13 and 12 of the Arduino board.

The controller is programmed to move the robot in forward direction when the
front sensor detects fire and move in the left or right direction when the fire is
detected by the left or right sensor respectively. As the robot moves towards
the fire spot, the fan or water pump attached to the robot is also activated. The
robot can be moved forward, backward, left or right by implementing the
following input logic at the motor driver pins.
Table 3.5: Logic Table of L293D Motor Driver IC for a firefighting
Robot

56
The Arduino sketch changes the digital output at the input pins of the motor driver IC
to control the motion of the robot. In this project, the robot is designed to move
autonomously. It turns left and moves forward to reach an appropriate spot if fire is
sensed by the left sensor. It turns right and moves forward to reach an appropriate
spot if fire is sensed by the right sensor. It moves forward or backward until it
reaches an appropriate spot if fire is detected by the front sensor.
As a responsive action, a water pump with nozzle is activated. For activating the
water pump mounted on the robot, the DC motor pump inside the water can
sucks in water at a high pressure by sending Low and High logic or High and low
logic at the pins 2 and 7 of the other motor driver IC. A water pump is attached in
the robot by interfacing it through an additional circuitry.
The robot designed in this project is a prototype. A production robot should
have a fireproof body and should have control circuitry protected in a fireproof
casing. A production robot may have specifically designed robotic body which
can move around and enter any place with ease. It can have a larger battery
pack and a powerful water pump or motor fan mounted on it.
57
3.10 MECHANICAL DESIGN STRUCTURE

EARLY STAGES

Fig 3.24 Setup For Testing

Fig 3.25 Fire Is Extinguished

58
Fig 3.26 Android Mit Code

59
Fig 3.27 Android Remote Application

60
ARDUINO UNO CONNECTIONS

1) GAS SENSOR CONNECTION

a) INPUT PIN is connected to digital pin of arduino
b)VCC is connected to 5v of Ardiuno
c)GROUND is connected to ground pin of Ardiuno
/

2) WATER PUMP
VCC PIN is connected to 5v of Ardiuno
GROUND PIN is connected to ground pin of Ardiuno

3) SERVO MOTOR
INPUT PIN is connected to digital pin of Ardiuno
VCC PIN is connected to 5v of Ardiuno
GROUND PIN is connected to ground pin of Ardiuno

4) DC Motor
a) INPUT 1 is connected to digital pin of Ardiuno
b)INPUT 2 is connected to digital pin of Ardiuno
c)INPUT 3 is connected to digital pin of Ardiuno
d)INPUT 4 is connected to digital pin of Ardiuno
e)INPUT 5 is connected to digital pin of Ardiuno
f) INPUT 6 is connected to digital pin of Ardiuno
g)DC 1 is connected to pin 1 of motor 1
h)DC 2 is connected to pin 2 of motor 1
i) DC 3 is connected to pin 1 of motor 2
j) DC 4 is connected to pin 2 of motor 2
k)VCC PIN is connected to 5v of Ardiuno

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 l) GROUND PIN 1 is connected to anode of the battery
m) GROUND PIN 2 is connected to ground
n)GROUND PIN 3 is connected to ground

3.5 Development And Coding

3.5.1 Programming Language

Several programming languages were considered to properly implement the Smart robotic fire

fighter system . The right selection of a programming language yields solutions that are concise,

easy to debug, easy to extend, easy to document, and easy to fix.

The following are the factors that induced our choice of tools to be used:

1. The targeted platform

2. The elasticity of a language

3. The time to production

4. The performance

5. The support and community.

After due consideration in relation to this project work, we will use an official ARDUINO

3.5.2 SOFTWARE

Arduino software (IDE)

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In order to write and compile the code to the Arduino boards, Arduino Integrated Development
Environment (IDE) is used. Arduino IDE is an open source and official Arduino software, which
make programming code easier, even for people who have no prior knowledge. It is available in
operating systems such as MAC, Windows, Linux. The IDE generally consists of two basic
parts: Editor and Compiler. The former is used for writing the code and the latter is used for
compiling and uploading thecode into the Arduino boards, in this case, it is the Arduino Uno.
The IDE supports both C and C++ language.When we start the IDE, a window like figure 9 will

appear.

Fig.3.27: Arduino IDE interface characteristics

The figure marks with information about Arduino IDE for more understanding. The detailed
explanations are given below.
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1: Verify - compiles and verify the code in the sketch.

- 2: Upload - upload the code to Arduino module.

- 3: New Tab - opens a new sketch window.

- 4: Open - open any existing sketch.

- 5: Save - save current sketch.

- 6: Serial Monitor - opens a window to send and receive information 00from Arduino module.

- 7: An area for writing the code

- 8: Console - show details of errors and warnings, useful for debugging.

- 9: Board & Serial Port Selections - show which kind of the Arduino board and what serial port
are ran. In this case, the Arduino Uno and port COM3 was used.

Furthermore, the Menu bar is on the top of the interface, which has five different options
as follows:

- File: Create a new window for writing the code or open an existing one.

- Edit: Has font modification for the code, as well as copy and paste function.

- Sketch: For compiling and programming, include the new libraries for Arduino if needed.

- Tools: Used for testing projects, shows which Arduino boards and port are in used.

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- Help: Have getting started and troubleshooting part to help with the software.

FEATURES OF ARDUINO IDE

a) The project file or the sketches for a project are saved with the file extension .ino
b) Features such as cut / copy / paste are supported in this IDE.
c) There also is a facility for finding a particular word and replacing it with another by
pressing the Ctrl + F buttons on the keyboard
d) The most basic part or the skeleton of all Arduino code will have two functions

PROGRAMMING BASICS
Now we’ll discuss about the programming techniques of Arduino sketch in the Arduino
IDE. There are two main parts every sketch will always have, they are:
c) void setup ()
d) void loop ()

void setup():

This is the first routine that begins when the Arduino starts functioning. This function is
executed only once throughout the entire program functioning.

The setup function contains the initialization of every pin we intend use in our project for
input or output. Here is an example of how it should be written:

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 Here the pin is the no. of the pin that is to be defined. INPUT / OUPUT correspond to the
mode in which the pin is to be used.

It also contains the initialization of the Serial Monitor. A serial monitor is used to
know the data that are being sent serially to any peripheral device.

Before using any variables for programming it is necessary to define them above the
function “void setup()”

void loop():
This function is the next important function in the Sketch. It consists of that part of the
code that needs to be continuously executed unlike the part of the code written in the
setup function.
An example of a void loop is as follows:

Here digital Write is a function that writes a high or a low value to a digital pin. If the
pin has been configured as an OUTPUT with pin Mode(), its voltage will be set to the
corresponding value: 5V (or 3.3V on 3.3V boards) for HIGH, 0V (ground) for LOW.

Similarly if there is a need for delay in the sketch then there is another function that

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creates a delay in the execution of the code

This creates a delay in the execution of the program for the time period specified (in
milliseconds). Using the above two function lets create a sketch for blinking a led.

CHAPTER 4

67
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

HARD WARE CONNECTIONS

1. Gas Sensor Connection

a) The QRob will not react when the sensor not activate and the QRob will react when
the sensor activates as well.
b) This sensor is connecting with DC motor.
c) This sensor OFF when fire was not detected and DC motor and Temperature Sensor
ON.
d) This sensor ON when fire is detected, then DC motor is OFF.

When Flame Sensor = 1; DC Motor = 0, Temperature Sensor = 1.

When Flame Sensor = 0; DC Motor = 1, Temperature Sensor = 0.

2 . Temperature Sensor Connection

a) This sensor will m e a s u r e t h e t e m p e r a t u r e of their
surroundings.
b) This sensor ON when Heat detected, Gas Sensor ON but DC MOTOR
will OFF.
c) This sensor ON when Flame sensor ON.
d) When Temperature Sensor = 1; DC Motor = 1, Flame Sensor = 0,
When Temperature Sensor = 0; DC Motor = 0, Flame Sensor = 1,

3. DC Motor
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 a This Motor is connecting with driver motor and Arduino Uno.
b This Motor ON when , Smart Sensors OFF.
c This Motor OFF when Smart Sensors ON.
When DC Motor = 1; Gas Sensor = 0, Flame Sensor = 0,
When DC Motor = 0; Gas Sensor = 1, Flame Sensor = 1,

PROGRAMMING RESULTS

Once you are ready with your hardware, you can upload the Arduino code for some
action. The complete program is given at the end of this page. However I have
further explained few important bits and pieces here.
As we know the fire sensor will output a HIGH when there is fire and will output a LOW
when there is fire. So we have to keep checking these sensor if any fire has occurred. If
no fire is there we ask the motors to remain stop by making all the pins high as shown

if (digitalRead(Left_S) ==1 && digitalRead(Right_S)==1 && digitalRead(Forward_S) ==1) //If Fire not detected all sens
{
//Do not move the robot digitalWrite(LM1, HIGH); digitalWrite(LM2, HIGH); digitalWrite(RM1, HIGH); digitalWrite(RM2, HIGH);
}

Similarly, if there is any fire we can ask the robot to move in that direction by rotating
the respective motor. Once it reaches the fire the left and right sensor will not detect the
else if (digitalRead(Forward_S) ==0) //If Fire is straight ahead
{
//Move the robot forward digitalWrite(LM1, HIGH); digitalWrite(LM2, LOW); digitalWrite(RM1, HIGH); digitalWrite(RM2, LOW); fire
= true;
}

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 fire as it would be standing straight ahead of the fire. Now we use the variable
named “fire” that would execute the function to put off the fire.

Once the variable fire becomes true, the fire fighting robot arduino code will execute the

while (fire == true)

{
put_off_fire();
}

put_off_fire function until the fire is put off. This is done using the code below.

Inside the put_off_fire() we just have to stop the robot by making all the pins high. Then

turn on the pump to push water outside the container, while this is done we can also

use the servo motor to rotate the container so that the water is split all over
uniformly. This is done using the code below

void put_off_fire()
{
delay (500);
digitalWrite(LM1, HIGH); digitalWrite(LM2, HIGH); digitalWrite(RM1, HIGH); digitalWrite(RM2, HIGH);
digitalWrite(pump, HIGH); delay(500);
for (pos = 50; pos <= 130; pos += 1) { myservo.write(pos);
delay(10);
}
for (pos = 130; pos >= 50; pos -= 1) { myservo.write(pos);
delay(10);
}
digitalWrite(pump,LOW); myservo.write(90);
fire=false;
}

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SIMULATOR FOR ARDUINO:

The Arduino Simulator app gives the user the freedom to work without the basic setup of
hardware and software. It is designed to be used by beginners and also, experienced
developers, who want to quickly develop Arduino projects. 

The developer can make the necessary changes in the code - delay, pin number, and state
- 0 (low) 1 (high) - and check it immediately. The app shows the breadboard, complete
with 14 LED pins.

You can drag and place the wires in the correct positions to connect to Arduino. If the
wires are placed according to the code, then it will show the expected results.  Once
satisfied, you can save it and email it. The code can be copied and used in an actual
project just as easily.

This app is an easy way to work through Arduino projects. With customizable codes, and
a simple to use interface, this Arduino Simulator app from Schogini Systems is a
convenient app for Arduino developers.

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A screenshot of Arduino simulator is shown in the figure below

Figure 4.1 screenshot of ARDUINO simulator

72
73
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