Robot to rescue kids trapped in borewell developed in India

Back in July 2006, almost all of India got glued to the television screens as the national media aired the rescue operation of the 5-year old kid, named Prince, who was stuck in a 55 foot deep borewell. It took the rescuers a total of 49 hours to successfully rescue Prince. Since then there have been several incidents where the innocent kids trapped inside borewell could not be saved. These incidents made M. Maniknandan of the TVS Community College (department of Electrical and Plumbing) think of a solution that'd help in rescue missions. He and his team have engineered a borewell robot capable of rescuing kids safely and in a very effective way.

Borewell-Robot ​
Last month, the team already helped rescue G. Harshan, a kid trapped in a borewell near Sankarankoil. The abandoned borewells have become death traps for many kids. In order to rescue kids, Maniknandan have adopted an innovative approach. The robot has been fitted with a high-resolution camera which is first lowered into the borewell to determine the exact location and surroundings. There's an arm at the end of the structure which is lowered into the pit using ropes. The team has developed different types of arms that can be fitted to pull out the child depending on his/her position inside the pit.

While we all hope that the need to use the borewell robot should never arise and all kids should stay safe; we acknowledge that this problem is going to persist unless people become sensible enough to ensure that borewells aren't left unattended. We'd like to encourage our fellow engineers to think of innovative mechanisms in which robotics can be used for similar rescue missions.

We look forward to receiving your ideas.

Source: <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/robot-with-a-human-touch/article5930888.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Robot with a human touch - The Hindu</a>

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  • Rajni Jain
    Rajni Jain

    @rajni-E46Rlm • May 13, 2014

    Great innovation but Bore-well incidents are taking place all over the country in large numbers, I don't think that this type of instrument will be made available at all places including villages. Safety requirements and precautionary measures must be taken to avoid such incidents.

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  • Vikram S Bargah
    Vikram S Bargah

    @vikram-s-EgXevn • May 13, 2014

    Rajni JainGreat innovation but Bore-well incidents are taking place all over the country in large numbers, I don't think that this type of instrument will be made available at all places including villages. Safety requirements and precautionary measures must be taken to avoid such incidents.


    As said above, this device should be made available at all the fire & safety Department across the country & and respective safety personnel should be trained to use it during emergency incidents/situations.

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  • Anoop Kumar
    Anoop Kumar

    @anoop-kumar-GDGRCn • May 13, 2014

    Rajni JainI don't think that this type of instrument will be made available at all places including villages.

    But it will be available latest by 72 hours. 😛

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  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare

    @thebigk • May 13, 2014

    I remember I was having a conversation with my colleagues about possible ways of rescuing the victim in shortest possible time. The problem is more complex than we think. The only reasonable thing to do seems to be drilling another pit parallel to the current pit and then going perpendicular to reach out to the victim.

    I personally doubt how effective is this borewell robot is. You can't take chances on the mud-slide or rocks falling inside the pit when the robotic arm is being lowered. Could prove fatal even if a small rock its the victim.

    One solution I propose is to insert an inflatable cushion to the bottom of the pit and somehow place it under the kid (suggestions welcome). Then simply pull it all up using ropes. Workable? What do you say?

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