“Digi-Dog” Deployed after Garage Collapse in NYC

This past April, a multi-level parking garage collapsed in lower Manhattan – creating a deadly and dangerous situation for all involved, especially the first responders at the scene. The potential for further structural collapse posed a serious risk in their search and rescue mission. We all know the reputation of New York’s Bravest, but what if there was another option? This time around, there was. The FDNY’s Command Tactical Unit quickly arrived on the scene and stepped in to deploy Bergh, the department’s Quadruped Robot.

Equipped with an infrared imaging device and a Dalmatian spotted paint job, Bergh forayed into the wreckage to detect for people who may have been trapped as well as survey the garage’s structure so rescue crews could safely enter. And up in the air, the CTU’s drones gave them a bird’s eye view of the situation. Both robots served as new, creative solutions to solve dangerous problems.

The FDNY developed the Command Tactical Unit around their first Drones, to give extra eyes to the command post for large 2-Alarm fire responses…it has since developed into a fully functional team that now also tackles water runs, search and rescues, and all sorts of calls that are out of the ordinary. The Drones are deployed nearly every day, meanwhile, the parking garage collapse was the Quadruped’s first official mission. The Quadruped, which is a Boston Dynamics Spot model, is used to go anywhere humans can’t, whether it’s a structural collapse or a hazmat incident. Now with two Quadrupeds at their disposal, the New York City Emergency Units have shown that Robotics and new technologies are considered useful tools for first responders and will continue to be in the future.