On Robotic Rescue Facilities for Disastrous Earthquakes -From the Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake

Abstract

The Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake killed more than 6,000 on Jan. 17, 1995. Many people barely escaped from the debris and actively saved buried lives. Rescue facilities are really important for robust social systems. They should be researched as applications of robotics and mechatronics. In this paper, the processes of rescue just after the disaster were investigated. It considers specifications of rescue robotic facilities for huge earthquakes on the basis of the real processes.