Avalanche Search and Rescue

grabcad

This accessory is designed to aid avalanche search and rescue. The Horus drone may be too small to carry a large enough Reservoir (GREY), but the concept can still be shown: 1. Transceiver (YELLOW) is mounted such that audio and visual feedback can be monitored using the GoPro camera (not shown). 2. Fluid (BLUE, like what is used to mark ski racing courses) is held in a reservoir and routed to a smaller reservoir (GREEN). 3. A Ball (RED) acts like a valve and is normally closed due to the weight of the assembly. NOTE: I have included a through hole which allows some fluid to pass even when the ball valve is closed. This may be useful for marking which areas the drone has already searched. 4. If a signal is detected, the drone can be lowered, opening the valve, releasing fluid and creating a large blue circle to aid rescuers. There are several other applications where a drone could be used to dispense fluid: 1. Create a glow-in-the-dark pathway to assist during building evacuations. 2. Dispense "invisible" fluid that can only be detected with night vision goggles. 3. Replace transceiver with a metal detector to assist with clearing landmines from an area. 3D printing allows the ball joint and associated fluid pathway to be created as a single assembly. This single 3D-printed design would normally require multiple fabrication (several injection molds) and assembly (bonding or ultrasonic welding) techniques using traditional manufacturing methods to achieve a similar design. (Note: The Reservoir (GREY) is a generic bottle used for illustration purposes).