Robotics·Jan 1, 2022

Fire Fighting Robot

A small autonomous robot that detects flame direction, drives toward it and triggers a water pump.

Overview

This was a fun classroom-style project that sneaks in a lot of real concepts at once: directional sensing, motor control, decision-making and triggering an output that interacts with the physical world. The robot uses flame sensors to pick up the direction of a fire source, drives toward it, then activates a small pump.

Specifications

RoleRobot builder and firmware developer

MicrocontrollerArduino UNO

SensorsFlame sensorsOptional ultrasonic distance sensor

ModulesMotor driverWater pumpDC motors

ProtocolsGPIOPWM

Tech tagsFire Fighting RobotFlame SensorPumpArduinoAutonomous Robot

Architecture

Flame sensors detect fire direction. The controller drives motors and pump outputs based on sensor intensity and distance behavior.

Project photos

Videos

Implementation details

Firmware

Firmware reads flame sensor direction, drives the robot toward the source, stops within range, and activates the pump output.

Power

Battery supply powers motors and pump separately from logic to reduce voltage dips.

Components / BOM

Arduino UNO, Flame sensor array, Motor driver, Water pump, Battery pack

Engineering challenges

False triggers from ambient bright light, and current draw from the pump trying to drag the logic supply down.

Solutions

Calibrated the sensors for direction instead of just presence, and powered the pump and motors from a rail separate from the controller.

Results & metrics

A working demo showing detection, approach and extinguishing on a small flame target.

Future improvements

Add proper thermal sensing, better nozzle aim, obstacle avoidance, and a fireproof chassis.