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Students develop robot for mapping safe, passable areas for search, rescue operations


Grade 12 students from the Manila Science High School developed a robot that can save lives by helping emergency responders navigate a safe route for search and rescue operations.

Featured in the "Game Changer" segment of "24 Oras" on Monday, the Search and Rescue Lidar Integrated and Autonomous Mapping (SLINAM) robot is a fully automated and can map an area anytime, anywhere.

“It can both aid in disaster mitigation so that areas are more prepared in case of a disaster or to help in search and rescue operations. Especially in areas where there's a lot of debris and it might be a risk for search and rescue teams,” said developer Kazuya Mori.

“This robot tries to alleviate that problem by giving an idea of how the place actually looks. Less risk for the rescuer once they actually go inside,” developer Jose Xavier Cruz said.

The data SLINAM gathered will be sent to a software, which will alert the rescuers to the passable areas.

The prototype is equipped with a lidar sensor that has software for area detection and mapping.

“We wanted to challenge ourselves to try this technology which actually in the Philippines is not that explored,” Mori said.

The SLINAM came in third place in the regional science and technology fair last year.

Once it has gathered the data and completed its mapping, color-coding will take place. Areas with gray color are passable, while areas with black color are not. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BAP, GMA Integrated News