- The Tianmushan–9 can operate at heights of up to 100 meters and carry three adults
- The vehicle-mounted system is designed to reach floors inaccessible to conventional fire ladders
China has unveiled a large tethered aerial rescue platform designed to evacuate people from high-rise buildings that conventional fire trucks cannot reach.
The Tianmushan-9, developed by Hangzhou-based Tianmushan Laboratory and Beijing-based Tianxun Innovation’s joint laboratory, was unveiled in Hangzhou on September 19.
During a demonstration, the platform flew to a simulated fire on the top floor of a building, where a search-and-rescue robot dog was deployed to locate trapped occupants before returning them to the ground.
Unlike small drones typically used for photography or inspections, the Tianmushan No. 9 is designed as a mobile emergency-response system that can create an aerial work platform alongside high-rise buildings.
It can operate at heights of up to 100 meters and carry three adults at a time.
Powered from the ground
The system consists of the aerial rescue platform, a high-voltage tethered power supply, a vehicle-mounted transport and command unit, and an intelligent mission-control system.
The platform can take off from the roof of an SUV or from a ground area of about 30 square meters, requiring far less space than conventional aerial ladder trucks.
A tether supplies continuous power from the ground, overcoming the flight-time limitations of onboard batteries.
The team said it has also solved a key engineering challenge involving 800-volt high-voltage power delivery after about a year of development.
Toward final certification
As of a July review, the platform’s overall design, structure, propulsion, flight control and high-voltage power systems had been completed.
In the meantime, its rescue modules and adaptation to different emergency scenarios were still under development.
Tianmushan Laboratory said it will next test the platform in wall-side operations and with unevenly distributed loads.
The team also plans to work with emergency-management authorities and fire-rescue teams as it moves toward final certification, mass production and further upgrade
Header image credit: Pan Tong/Tianmushan Laboratory
