EPQ Dissertation

How to save a life
with Pi
Raspberry Pi rescue robot
Alexander Liptak
ALPERTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract.....................................................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................................3
Methodology........................................................................................................................................................................4
Research Review................................................................................................................................................................ 4
How to Save a Life with Pi ...................................................................................................................................................5
What makes a good rescue robot? ............................................................................................................................... 5
The Raspberry Pi ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
Movement using Stepper motors ............................................................................................................................. 9
Monitoring the surroundings via Ultrasound........................................................................................................11
Camera...........................................................................................................................................................................13
External power using custom Li-ion battery pack...............................................................................................14
Remote control ............................................................................................................................................................16
Rescue robots today........................................................................................................................................................17
Data analysis.....................................................................................................................................................................18
Primary Data ................................................................................................................................................................18
Secondary Data ...........................................................................................................................................................25
Ethical issues: ...................................................................................................................................................................26
Will people ever trust robots to save their lives? ................................................................................................26
If a rescue robot fails to save a life, who is to blame? ......................................................................................26
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................................................................27
Appendinx...............................................................................................................................................................................28
Bibliography.......................................................................................................................................................................28
Internet Links from Research: .................................................................................................................................28
Internet Links from Footnotes: ................................................................................................................................28
Production Log..................................................................................................................................................................32
Significant Project Areas ...........................................................................................................................................35
Word Count ........................................................................................................................................................................35

ABSTRACT
In this project, I have attempted to build a working robot that will be able to map and navigate any
location that it is placed in via an array of ultrasonic sensors. This robot is constructed of nothing more
than a Raspberry Pi board, a few components and materials obtained from the school’s DT department,
and the code that operates this robot is made solely by me.
The purpose of this project was for me to gain insight into the world of robotics, and to further develop my
research and problem solving skills. I carried out research into many more areas than I would have
imagined at the beginning of this project, to complete it to the best of my ability.
After learning how to work with the Raspberry Pi, I carried out research on topics that trouble robotic
engineers to this day. I attempted to answer questions such as:
- How should my robot move? (Wheels / Legs / Continuous tracks)
- What type of motor should I use? (DC / Stepper / Servo)
- How should I power the robot? (AC / Battery Power)
- What type of batteries should I use to maximise usage-time and minimise size? (AAA / Li-ion / Li-
poly)
All of these questions will be answered below, also including pros and cons of each, and why I chose each
option.
Finally, I have concluded that, although building a robot is not the easiest of things, in the upcoming “age
of robotics”, rescue robots will become an important part of our lifestyle. Although trusting a robot to save
a human’s life might pose a bit of a problem, it will eventually become a necessity, as some rescue
operations cannot be completed by direct human contact.

INTRODUCTION
“Enjoy today’s gift of life, appreciate every moment of life; and live life with kindness for another
tomorrow may not be same as today” 1
Countless of people throughout the history have argued about what is the most important value in life,
but they all agreed on the fact that life itself is the greatest of gifts, and that protecting it should be our
top priority. With natural disasters like the 2010 Haiti Earthquake taking 222,570 lives2, I’m surprised
rescue robots aren’t as common as vacuum cleaners or microwaves these days.
I was very lucky to get my hands on a Raspberry Pi this year. The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized
computer3 that can communicate with the physical world. At the CPU speed of 700 MHz4, this makes it
more than perfect for building a robot.
Following my passion of computing, my interest in robotics, and my curiosity in why robots still haven’t
taken over the world, I have set out the explore the world of robotics. In the following paragraphs, I will
discuss what it takes to make a rescue robot, why building a robot isn’t the easiest of tasks, and what
problems does trusting a robot with a human life pose.
1 Quote by Kemmy Nola
2 Number one disaster on “10 most significant natural disasters by death toll from 1980 to 2012”
3 Definition provided by the Raspberry Pi Foundation
4 Broadcom BCM2835 CPU clock

METHODOLOGY
As EPQ was an extensive project that consisted of many stages, I created a plan that I should follow in
order to complete it to the best of my ability while keeping to my time constraints.
At first, I found my inspiration in a TED video, found online and listed in my bibliography. This gave me the
idea to build my own rescue robot, and explore the area of technology and robotics.
The next steps that followed were tons of research on anything and everything related to Raspberry Pi
and rescue robots. This was useful, as I started building a very clear idea of what it is exactly that I want
to do for my EPQ, and how. After my research was completed, I knew exactly what I was doing
(specifications of robot, what components to include, what research needs to be carried out, how I will
build it and document everything, the layout of my dissertation, etc.)
The next step involved testing the components I was going to use. To find out everything I can about them
and how they work. I even had to make some of my own. During this time, I also carried out a bit of
coding, and prepared my subroutines that I will use in the final program.
At this point, I was going to do final research on the ethics of technology and rescue robots in general. I
was planning to collect secondary data from the internet, but also create a survey of my own using
Google Forms, that will let me gain a lot of insight on what people currently think of robots, and if they
trust them to save their lives.
Lastly, I put together the entire robot, taking great care that it would function as a rescue robot. During
this whole process, I noted down all the websites I visited, the people I talked to, the decisions I had to
make and why, and also documented everything I’ve done, step by step.
RESEARCH REVIEW
While doing my research and amassing my sources of information, I had to take great care to ensure that
the information I obtain is credible and up to date.
When I encountered a useful piece of informational on an official website, I didn’t doubt that the
information is credible (I still used my common sense to judge the validity). I never used information
directly from Wikipedia, because although the content is moderated often, the fact that anyone can edit
the website increases the chance that the information isn’t accurate. Whenever I had to use Wikipedia as
a source, I would check Wikipedia’s own list of references, and find my information from there.
As most of my research required the use of user-created content that was never verified (for example,
code examples for use of certain components), I had to check other user’s comments and reactions
before using he information myself. This was especially important, as I could have damaged some of my
components or the Raspberry Pi board itself, with the use of incorrect information.
I also had to check that the information I found was up-to-date, as any out-dated information might not
be compatible with the latest software / hardware versions that I was using. It was pretty straight-forward
to pick out information that was up-to-date, as most websites have a “date published” field, and all books
have a “date printed” label.

HOW TO SAVE A LIFE WITH PI
WHAT MAKES A GOOD RESCUE ROBOT?
Before that question can be answered, we have to define what a robot is:
“A machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one
programmable by a computer”5
In order for my collection of electronic components to qualify as a robot, it has to contain a few dedicated
parts to carry out these actions. At the heart of the soon-to-be robot lies a Raspberry Pi board, which is a
very capable piece of electronics that can be programmed to carry out specified tasks automatically. It
can do up to 700 million instructions per second without any further human interference6, and one of its
many tasks will be to calculate the time it takes for a sound signal to travel between two points and
therefore deduce the distance between the robot and an object (otherwise called echolocation), doing so
a few hundred times per minute. If this qualifies as a “complex series of actions”, then my collection of
electronics is now a robot!
Now, to define what a rescue robot is:
“A self-contained and powered robotic device that ambles over debris from natural (e.g., earthquakes) or
manmade disasters (e.g., collapsed buildings) to help rescue workers. They are usually equipped with
sensors for CO2 and body heat, and cameras for sending images to a home station”7
My robot can be remote controlled to allow remote rescue operations (but will have an autonomous
setting, so the robot can navigate itself if remote communication is impossible). My robot, equipped with
a camera, IR LEDs, White light illumination, and ultrasound sensors; now qualifies as a surveillance
rescue robot.
In theory, it could be used to provide video surveillance from areas affected by a disaster. The video feed
will be sent live to a remotely connected computer, and the robot will be sent to places where human
surveillance is impossible. It will allow others to monitor the status of any remaining survivors, or look for
more survivors amongst the wreckage.
But what makes my robot a good rescue robot? Which components make it useful? Why did I choose
these and not any other alternatives? These, and also other questions regarding the ethics of rescue
robots, will be answered below.
5 Definition by the Oxford Dictionary
6 700 MHz
7 Definition by the Free Online Dictionary

THE RASPBERRY PI
Feed from all the sensors, image from the camera, instructions for motors to move, and information to
be sent to the main station – these are just some of data that needs to be processed. It has to be fast,
programmable, able to communicate with components, efficient, and small. This is the description that
matches the Raspberry Pi, a pocket-sized low-lower computer. Plug in a monitor, a mouse and keyboard,
and power, and you have yourself a computer. Furthermore, it also gives access to 17 GPIO (General
Purpose Input / Output)8 pins, which allow me to communicate with other components.
These pins are shown in the image below,
there are 26 pins in total, 17 of which are
GPIO, and the rest provide either ground
or 5 Volts (or 3.3 Volts) of electricity to
power other components. To these pins, I
will connect components such as sensors
and motors.
Next, there is Composite Video output
(Yellow) and Audio output (Blue). These
would be needed if there was going to be
a screen on the actual robot, or speakers
attached to it, though I would prefer the
use of the HDMI port, which is located
opposite to these two.
HDMI (High Defnition Multimedia Inteface)9 is a type of data transimmsion that allows for both Audio and
High Defintinon Video output, carried through one cable. This would be best option when using any video
or audio output from the robot itself (for example, speakers to call for survivors, or video to communicate
face-to-face with any survivors).
There is an Ethernet port on the far corner of the Pi, which enables the Pi to be connected to the internet.
There are not many uses for this in the final robot, as the robot would need to communncate wirelessly,
not be restricted by a cable. Unfortunetaly, the Rasperry Pi does not come
with a Wireless Networking Card10, but it is compatible with many WiFi USB
dongles.
Here comes the use for the two USB ports. Normally, you would have
connected a mouse or a keyboard to these, but there is no use for them in a
robot. Instead, I use a USB to connect this DWA-121 WiFi dongle11, which
enables me (and the robot) to connect to internet wirelessly.
The board itself contains a CPU (Central Processing Unit)12, integrated GPU (Graphic Processing Unit)13,
and RAM (Random Access Memory)14, which are the most important components of any computer.
8 Definition and description by the Raspberry Pi Foundation
9 What is HDMI – by Webopedia
10 From Raspberry Pi official FAQ page
11 By D-Link
12 Definition of “CPU” by Dictionary.com
13 Definition of “GPU” by TechTerms.com
14 Definition of “RAM” by TechTerms.com

The camera can be connected to the CSI (Camera Serial Interface) which is located behind the Ethernet
port, and a small display can be connected to the DSI (Display Serial Interface)15, located on the other
side of the board.
ALTERNATIVES
There are several alternatives I could have chosen instead of the RPi, to be used to control a robot, for
example an IC.
IC stands for integrated circuit16, and is basically a microchip.
These are designated for certain tasks, such as timers,
tuners, amplifiers, but also memory and microprocessors.
This means that instead of a computer controlling a robot,
you could just have a pre-programmed chip.
This option is very expensive to develop, because it requires a
custom chip for every different use. There are no chips used
to control a robot, one will have to be made specifically for
your one.
Another option would be to use a different
microcomputer. For example, the Arduino Uno17 is a good
option. It has GPIO pins, same as the Raspberry Pi, but
plugs into a USB cable only. This opens up many different
possibilities, such as one microcomputer controlling the
other, but this wouldn’t be ideal in a robot. Also, the
voltage of an Arduino is 7 to 12 Volts, which is more than
your standard Li-ion battery provides. This would require
another circuitry to control voltage, or a different type of
battery, which would increase the costs and probably
even weight of the robot.
15 Information on RPi Peripherals by eLinux
16 Definition and Uses of Integrated Circuits by WhatIs.com
17 Official Arduino Website

Another different option could be the BeagleBone
Black18. It has an incredible amount of GPIO pins, and
only requires a USB cable for power. It has is, in a sense,
much more capable for making a robot than a Raspberry
Pi. The only reason I did not choose this as my option
number one is because of lack of availability, and no
compatibility with a camera (rescue robots without a
camera are a bit on the blind side).
18 Official BeagleBone Website

MOVEMENT USING STEPPER MOTORS
The next thing a good rescue robot needs is a way to move. There are many ways a robot can move –
flying using rotors, moving using wheels, walking using mechanical legs, or swimming using propellers.
They all share one thing in common though; they all require some form of actuator or motor to perform
this action. While constant circular movement requires the use of a DC motor or a Stepper motor, precise
movement about a certain angle requires the use of Servo motors or Stepper motors.
I would say that a stepper motor is the best choice for a rescue robot, as it provides the best of both
worlds – providing relatively fast, smooth, non-stop circular motion, while having high torque and precise
control of speed and direction.
TYPES OF MOTORS
The three main types of motors are DC Motors, Stepper Motors, and Servo Motors.
DC Motors are your most common type of motor. It consists of a coil,
which is connected via brushes to a power source. This coil is inside
a magnet. When the coil has current running through it, it creates its
own magnetic field which interacts with that of the magnet, and this
forces the coil to move, driving the motor19. It provides constant high
speed rotation, and is fairly
cheap. On the other hand
though, it has mechanical parts
that constantly undergo some
friction, and so it wears out
easily. Also, it has no precise
control – the only way to slow it down is to introduce some resistance
into the circuit. Finally, the only way to reverse the rotation of a DC
motor (as to provide backwards motion) is to flip your positive and
negative ends of your power source20, which is fairly difficult to do
without additional electronics such as an electronic switch. A DC
Motor would be an alright choice for a rescue robot, but the lack of precision might interfere with the
delicate steps that it needs to undertake. Also, DC Motors wear out too easily, and replacing them might
be costly.
19 How a DC Motors works – by PCBheaven
20 How to reverse a DC Motor – by Robot Room

The Servo Motor is another type of motor. It is used when precise
angular control is needed, but where there does not need to be
any more than 180 degrees of rotation. The way it works is pretty
simple. It consists of a standard DC Motor, and some control
circuitry. Using the computer, you can send signals of different
length to the motor. Depending on the length of the signal, the
circuit will command the motor to turn to a certain position21.
The motor will resist being turned, but will require another signal
to be moved to the same position. It has high torque, and very
precise movement, but only allows for up to 180 degrees of
motion (which isn’t useful in turning robot wheels). It also wears
out pretty easily due to the DC Motor.
A Stepper Motor is another type of motor. It works by having
a central rotor with permanent magnets attached to it, and
a series of coils called stators which are magnetised in
order to push the rotor to the right position22. This particular
motor is the 35BYJ-46 model, and is compatible with the
Raspberry Pi. Stepper
motors require a driver
board to be controlled, in
this case a ULN2003.
The Raspberry Pi sends
signals to the driver
board, which controls the
motor and protect the Pi
from damage by the
motor. While there is
power through any of the coils, the motor has very high torque. The motor also allows for very high
precision of angular control, and can turn through full 360 degrees. On the other hand, it is relatively
slow, much slower than a DC Motor, but this is the type of motor that I would use in a rescue robot.
21 How a Servo Motor works – by Jameco Electronics
22 How a Stepper Motor works – by PCBheaven

MONITORING THE SURROUNDINGS VIA ULTRASOUND
Another thing a robot needs to be able to do is to sense its surroundings – whether to avoid obstacles or
create a map of its surroundings; some sort of sensor here is a necessity. That’s where the Ultrasonic
sensor comes in.
An Ultrasonic Sensor works by sending out a high frequency sound wave, and waiting for it to return. It
then records the time it takes for that sound wave to return23. Dividing this value by the speed of sound
through air, and then dividing again by 2 (because the time shows how long it took the wave to travel
there and back) gives you the distance from the object. These are the basic principles of echolocation.
The ultrasonic sensor I have chosen here is model HC-SR04. It is incredibly small (around 2 by 4
centimetres for the entire board), light, and works directly with the Raspberry Pi. Power comes in from
the Raspberry Pi itself into VCC (the first pin), and leaves via
GND (the last pin). Once the Pi sends a short signal to the
module into TRIG (the second pin), the module sends out a
very high frequency wave. It then sends a signal back to the
Raspberry Pi via ECHO (the third pin), with the length
corresponding to the time it took for the sound wave to
come back. This process is summarised in the diagram
below24.
This process isn’t absolutely precise, but is
accurate to about a centimetre, which is
good enough for a rescue robot. The
accuracy also depends on a lot of external
factors, such as the density of air (which
isn’t that likely to change so much) and the angle of the object – if the wall of the object is at 45 degrees
to the incoming sound, the wave will be directed away from the sensor
and it might come late or not at all. Also, there is the possibility of
one module setting of another one, but activating sensors in turn
would solve this problem. The practical test results of accuracy are
shown on the left25. These state that the module has the highest
accuracy if the wall is below a 30 degree angle to the incoming sound
wave.
Of course, there are other options that could be used instead of the ultrasound sensor, but as this is very
cheap (one can go on each side of the robot), provides good accuracy and is very easily controllable using
the Raspberry Pi, this is my option.
23 How an Ultrasonic Sensor works – by TeachEngineering
24 Timing chart by Ezdenki.com
25 Practical test results and analysis by BuildCircuit

ALTERNATIVES
There are other alternatives to the Ultrasonic Sensor. For example, you can use LGDM, or simply just use
a pushbutton.
LGDM stands for Laser-Guided Distance Measurement. The most common way a laser rangefinder works
is by sending out a laser beam pulse, and calculating
the time it take for it to return. This is basically the
same method used by Ultrasonic Sensors, but using a
different medium. Due to the way you can concentrate
light onto a small point, laser rangefinders can be
accurate to a millimetre and have incredibly large
ranges, but the extremely fast speed of light makes it
very hard and expensive to measure. If more accuracy
is needed, then other techniques, such as
triangulation can be used.26
I would not use this method in rescue robot as it is too
expensive and the range and accuracy offered by a laser rangefinder is simply unnecessary. And although
they work on the same principle as Ultrasonic Sensors, there are no laser rangefinders that are directly
compatible with the Raspberry Pi as of now.
The use of a pushbutton to measure distance isn’t the best of options, simply because a pushed button
means the distance is zero. But these do come useful as a sensor to map out surroundings. If a rescue
robot had a series of these buttons or pressure sensors attached to
its walls, it could purposefully bump into walls to find out if there is
an obstacle or not. This is the cheapest option of mapping
surroundings, but it is also pretty unreliable. Buttons wear out easily,
and not all contact is guaranteed to push the button. It is also pretty
hard to implement, unless there are plates on each side that push a
button instead.
26 Information about Distance Measurement with Lasers by RP Photonics

CAMERA
Every rescue robot needs to send camera feed to
the main rescue station. Either for sending
surveillance of victims, or simply for navigating
around, there is not rescue robot without a
camera. The one camera that I think is ideal for
this is the official Raspberry Pi Camera (Revision
1.3). It is extremely small (around 25 by 25mm),
plugs in directly the Raspberry Pi’s CSI port, and
can capture images of up to 5 MP (5 million
pixels) and Full High Definition (1080p is about
2.1 million pixels) at 30 fps (frames per
second).27
MAINTAINING VISIBILITY AT NIGHT
Using a camera under standard conditions is fine, but a rescue
robot will most likely spend most of its time in dark
conditions, under which the Raspberry Pi camera will not
produce an image visible enough to be useful. This is where
the modified Raspberry Camera comes in, the Pi NoIR. The
word “noir” stands for “black” in French, and mixed with the
fact that the actual board is black, and the camera can see in
the dark, this is a very good name. Additionally, NoIR stands
for No Infra-Red, because the camera has no infrared filter.
This means that, although all images in daylight have a red
tint to them, the camera can pick up infrared light in places
where there is not visible light, taking a black and white image
in places where a standard camera would show nothing,. An
image for
comparison is
shown below28. Of course, in pitch black locations, there
isn’t likely to be any IR light to start off with. In these
cases, IR light can be made by simply using a few
infrared LEDs, as in a standard night-vision surveillance
camera. These LED are cheap, low power, and provide
the much needed IR light for our camera, anywhere it is.
27 Camera Specification by ModMyPi
28 Testing of the Pi NoIR by RasPi.tv

EXTERNAL POWER USING CUSTOM LI-ION BATTERY PACK
All of the components listed above ensure that the rescue robot does what it needs to do, but none of
them would work without any power. This brings me to probably the most important component that a
robot can have – a battery pack.
Making sure the robot and all of its components have enough power to
run themselves for a decent amount of time is a priority, because no
matter how good a robot is, it is useless without power. A battery pack is
used for storing energy, for the robot to use later when needed. There are
many types of battery packs, of different types and sizes, with the most
common type being Li-ion (Lithium Ion). But either way, it is very unlikely
you will find a battery pack online that will be exactly right for your robot.
There are many factors to consider, such as size, shape, voltage,
maximum current, capacity, and such. The best way to go (but certainly not the easiest) is to make your
own, which is what I did.
I got my hands on 10 of these Li-ion batteries. They are 5V (standard
battery voltage) and 1700mAh (measure of capacity) each. Wiring 10 of
them in parallel gives you 17Ah of capacity, which is pretty impressive,
not to mention it is fairly light and has the exact dimensions I need.
The Raspberry Pi runs a bare minimum of 332mA29. With this current,
the battery should last the Pi for 51.2 hours, under ideal conditions. The theoretical maximum current for
a Raspberry Pi is 700mA. Under this current, the battery will last it 24.3 hours. Of course, the Raspberry
Pi will be doing lots of different tasks at different times, alternating between the maximum and
minimum currents. But either way, this battery pack will ensure the Pi and the rescue robot are
operational for over a day and a half.
There was a lot of testing involved in making sure this battery pack works as expected. I sampled lots of
different batteries with different capacities, and plotted their charge / discharge graphs to make sure
they are ideal.
29 Statistic on Raspberry Pi power usage from RaspberryPi Forums

ALTERNATIVES
There are several other ways of powering a robot.
One way, probably the simplest, is just plugging the
robot into a wall socket. This does provide lots of
advantages, such as no need for a battery pack,
which would make the robot a lot lighter, or having a
constant reliable power source for the Pi. There are
disadvantages though, such as that the robot will be
permanently tied to the power source, which is
usually from the wall – this means that the robot
would no longer function well as a rescue robot.
Another way is just to use a different type of battery
pack. For example an AA Battery Pack. The
advantages of this battery pack are that AA batteries
are readily available, and considerably cheap. On the
other hand though, they have incredibly small
capacity, and so investing into more costly rechargeable batteries should be the option. Rechargeable AA
batteries require a specific charger to charge, and they have
to be taken out of the robot to charge, so this would not be a
good option for a rescue robot.

REMOTE CONTROL
Remote control is the most important feature of a rescue robot. The robot needs to receive information
from the main station as to where to go and how to look for survivors, but also needs to send the camera
feed, sensor information and other statistics to the main station.
Remote control on the Raspberry Pi can be achieved quite easily. Using XRDP (X-Remote Desktop
Protocol)30, you can connect to the Raspberry Pi from any internet-enabled device that supports RDP. For
example, you can use Windows Remote Desktop Server App to view and remote control the Raspberry Pi.
AUTONOMOUS CONTROL
If we are programming robots to accomplish certain tasks, why not just go all the way and make them
autonomous? After all, remote controlled rescue robots do need to be remote controlled by people.
Firstly, this is certainly an option, but not an easy one. There are certain autonomous robots that do work
on their own accord without any human interaction, but how do you apply that to rescue robots?
And even if you make an autonomous rescue robot, would you trust it to save people without any human
interaction? Would the victim trust in a robot? Would robots make better decision in critical times than
humans?
I believe that even if a good autonomous algorithm was developed, I would not implement it in a rescue
robot, as people play a very important role in rescue – whether to make critical decision or comfort
victims.
30 Official XRDP Website

RESCUE ROBOTS TODAY
Believe it or not, although robots do seem like a thing of the future, they certainly are also a thing of the
present too! Rescue robots already play a major part in search and rescue operations. Although they
aren’t yet too human-looking, and mostly only aid rescuers with searching for victims, they have saved a
lot of lives already.
For example, this robot snake that crawls
into disaster-affected areas to search for and
save victims.31
Or this “Gemini Scout” that is optimised for search and
rescue in mining disasters.32
Or this Japanese Earthquake robot, that was
originally used to save people from fires, and
was repurposed to help save earthquake
victims.33
31 Article on Snake Rescue Robot
32 Article on the Gemini Scout
33 Article on Japan’s Earthquake Robot

DATA ANALYSIS
During this project, I have collected lots of primary and secondary data that needs to be analysed. The
primary data came from my battery tests and from my survey on ethics of rescue robots. My secondary
data came from other people’s experiments, mostly from the internet. This data is collected, summarised
and interpreted below.
PRIMARY DATA
I have conducted a survey about the ethics of rescue robots and the public opinion on technology. The
results are summarised here:
Results Interpretation
Although I sent
this survey to a
mixed
audience, I got
a higher turnout
of Male
answers. A
possible
explanation for
this may be
that boys
generally show
greater interest
in technology.
I sent this
survey to more
people of my
age, so I
expected this
sort of turnout.
If I had
connections
with an equal
number of
people from
each age group,
I still suspect
there would be
a higher turnout
for the younger
year groups, as
they appear to
be more
interested in
technology on
average.

This survey was
directed to
more people of
my locale, so I
expected a
higher turnout
from Europe. If
I sent this to an
equal number
of people from
each continent,
I assume that
there would be
no particular
trend in
turnout.
I assumed most
people would
pick this
answer, as this
is the general
stereotype
behind the
word “Robot”.
In fact, all of
the answers are
robots of one
form or the
other.
I am quite
surprised that
this answer got
the highest
turnout. It is
clear to me that
most people
understand the
importance of
robots in their
lives.

This is quite
interesting.
Most people
seem alright
with most of
these
technologically
advanced
proposition,
including the
idea of rescue
robots. Global
AI got the
smallest
turnout, for
reasons I can
understand.
I didn’t expect
surveillance
drones to get
such a small
turnout, when
nearly all of
rescue robots
that exist today
are only used to
look for
survivors and
keep
surveillance.
This is the
turnout that I
expected, as
hybrid robots
always have an
advantage.
Surprisingly
though, a lot of
people are
against
autonomous
robots,
probably
because a
robot without a
human driver
looses its
“humanity”

This is the
turnout I
expected. It is
good that
rescue robots
are accepted at
least as a
second choice,
and not
rejected
altogether.
There was an
even turnout
between yes
and no.
Surprisingly, I
would pick the
one in between,
as it is the
answer that
makes most
sense to me –
rescue robots
were made to
save people,
but robots
cannot really
have
responsibilities
(yet).
This is the most
logical answer,
and is the one I
expected to
have the
highest turnout
with. Although I
would agree
with the
controller being
responsible, I
think that new
rules need to
be created to
stop people
from misusing
the power over
somebody
else’s life.

This is also the
turnout I
expected, as
there could be
a lot of
different people
to blame. I also
think that new
laws need to be
invented.
Surprisingly
enough, a lot of
people are
indifferent to
this. I expected
most people to
answer
“human”, so
this changes
my perspective
on the way
people view
robots.
I did think that
most people
would choose
this option, as it
is the one with
the best
supported
decision.

I also collected data on battery charge and discharge:
Results Interpretation
The fastest charging
time for the
1500mAh is
between the 80%
and 90% stage.
For the batteries of
higher capacity, the
fastest charging
period was shifted to
between 50% and
70%.
The longest time to
charge was always
the last 10%,
although for the
battery of highest
capacity, this was
significantly higher.

In all the batteries,
you can see the two
stages of charging.
The first stage, when
fast charging occurs,
the graph has a
constant gradient.
The second stage,
trickle charging, is
when the graph
moves erratically.
The higher the
capacity, the shorter
the first stage and
the longer the
second stage.

SECONDARY DATA
One piece of secondary data is the results from the practical experiment of the HC-SR04 ultrasound
sensor.
This graph shows the performance of the
sensor with the change of angle. The dark
lines represent the performance in that
angle.
It is clear that after 30 degrees, the
performance of the sensor is not within the
acceptable level of accuracy.
Looking for the best results, you should
keep to within 20 degrees from your target.

ETHICAL ISSUES:
During the course of this project, I came across a lot of ethical problems regarding the use of rescue
robots. Two of the most important ones, I will discuss below.
WILL PEOPLE EVER TRUST ROBOTS TO SAVE THEIR LIVES?
Not trusting robots may have many different causes. Some people might be worried that the robot would
break or malfunction. Others believe that the use of robots is wrong, because people should be the ones
saving other people, not machines. There is also the issue of emotional support. Robots cannot give the
much-needed support to victims (yet), unlike a human rescuers can.
I believe that robots will need to earn our trust first. Rescue robots already accompany human rescuers to
affected areas, and it will not be long before robots are sent instead of people. There are many
advantages, which possibly even outweigh the disadvantages, such as no longer putting rescuer’s lives to
risk, and risking a disaster on top of the first one. Rescue robots will soon become very well known, and
I’m just waiting for a news article or a documentary to change that.
Either way, I believe that this whole point is not about trust. Because, a rescue robot will directly or
indirectly save a life, and you have no option of saying “No, I do not want to be saved”, as it is the robot’s
purpose to save people. Also, I don’t think anyone would actually refuse to be saved by a robot when they
are a trapped victim in need of help. Most people would prefer a human, but when it comes to it, rather a
robot that comes and save you than nobody,
IF A RESCUE ROBOT FAILS TO SAVE A LIFE, WHO IS TO BLAME?
Because you could argue that a rescue robot was made only to save lives, and therefore to save lives is
its sole purpose, rescue robots directly become responsible to save lives. But can robots have
responsibilities? How can robots be held accountable for the things they do? Who would get the blame?
I think it depends largely on what kind of robot it is. Remote controlled rescue robots that do not execute
tasks by themselves are controlled by a robot operator. If, for example, the operator decides that he does
not want to save this person’s life for whatever reason, is the person right to do that? Even if he has a
legitimate reason to do so, would it be fair? And if he neglects to save a life that he could save, would it
be considered murder? What is to stop him from saying that the robot malfunctioned and blame the
programmer or that it broke down and blame the manufacturer? I believe that, with remote controlled
rescue robots, the main responsibility goes to the operator, and he will be held accountable in case
anything happens. Every action will be logged, and can be reviewed to see if it was done on purpose or
not.
If it is an autonomous robot, on the other hand, things become different. As robots cannot have personal
reasons that prevent them from saving someone, any choice that the robot makes is directly the
programmers fault. But maybe the robot broke down and cannot operate, and now it is the
manufacturers fault. I believe that new rules need to be created to tackle this question, and I also think
that there is never just one person that is responsible, it is a shared responsibility between anyone who
participated in making and controlling the robot.

CONCLUSION
During this project, I have delved deep into the world of robotics, and the ethical issues behind it. Before I
started, the idea of rescue robots seemed alien to me. Robots are entities of the future, or so I thought.
Little did I know that robots are present in nearly every part of our lives. From helping us live a
comfortable life, through robots building other robots, to machines saving human lives.
I have identified the key components that make a good rescue robot. Firstly, it must have a CPU of some
sort to process all the data. Then it needs motors to create movement, and sensors to ensure that
movement is correct. It also needs a camera, to send images of its progress to the base of operations.
Additionally, and much more importantly, it needs a good, long-lasting power source. And finally, the
robot must have some sort of remote control, so base can give commands to the robot.
These, by all means, aren’t the only parts that a rescue robot should have. There are many other
components and options available, as any robot that directly or indirectly saves a life would be
considered a rescue robot.
I also looked into the ethics of rescue robots. Firstly, I asked myself (and a lot of others) whether people
would ever trust robots with their lives. I got a lot of different opinions, ranging from people trusting
robots with their lives completely, or others who said that they would not want to be rescued by robots at
all. I think the main problem lies in the principle that people should save other people’s lives, not create
other machines to do it for them. Another problem would be that robots just take out the humanity out of
rescue, as they cannot provide the comfort that a human rescuer could do.
Another very important question that I looked into was “Who is to blame when a robot fails to save a
life?”. Here I also got a varied response: there were a few who would blame the programmer, a few who
would blame the operator, and a few who would blame the manufacturer. One thing that was agreed on
though, was that new rules need to be created to ensure that people do not misuse the power over
someone’s life.
Throughout the course of this project, I also attempted to build my own rescue robot. The robot would
have the specifications outlined above, where I discussed the parts that make a good rescue robot.
I learned many valuable skills and brushed up many others. I improved on my time management skills,
and the ability to work under stress. I learned how to carry out good research, and how to identify bias
and validity in articles. I did a lot of self-study during this period, a skill that is very valuable, especially in
university. But most importantly, I learned a huge amount of information, hopefully passed some onto
others, and had great fun.

APPENDINX
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTERNET LINKS FROM RESEARCH:
Link Purpose
http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/NHSAtlasofrisk.aspx Research for
my medical
calculator
http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/ Research for
my medical
calculator
http://www.nwph.net/nwpho/inequalities/health_wealth_ch20_(2).pdf Research for
my medical
calculator
http://www.ted.com/talks/vijay_kumar_robots_that_fly_and_cooperate?language=en Inspiration
for my rescue
robot idea
http://www.raspberrypi.org/tag/robots/ Ideas for
different
robot
projects
http://www.raspberrypi.org/an-image-processing-robot-for-robocup-junior/ Ideas for
different
robot
projects
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/12/raspberry_pi_drone/ Ideas for
different
robot
projects
INTERNET LINKS FROM FOOTNOTES:
Footnote Link Purpose
1 http://www.searchquotes.com/quotation/Enjoy_today’s_gift_
of_life,_appreciate_every_moment_of_life%3B_and_live_life_
with_kindness_to_another_/570508/
A quote for my introduction
that summarises the same
principles that my
dissertation is about.
2 http://www.statista.com/statistics/268029/natural-
disasters-by-death-toll-since-1980/
Statistics about the worst
natural disasters to use in
my introduction.
3 http://www.raspberrypi.org/help/what-is-a-raspberry-pi/ Needed an official
definition on what a
Raspberry Pi is, for my
introduction.
4 http://www.raspberrypi.org/help/faqs/#generalSoCUsed Needed the rough specs of
the processing power of the
Raspberry Pi, for my
introduction.

5 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/robot Before I could identify
whether my Pi qualifies as
a robot, I needed to define
what a robot is.
6 Look at 4 Needed to know the clock
of the CPU to see if my Pi
qualifies as robot.
7 http://medical-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Rescue+Robot
Before I could see whether
my robot qualifies as a
rescue robot, I needed to
define what a rescue robot
is.
8 http://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/gpio/ Needed to define what a
GPIO is, how they work and
how many there are for the
description of my
Raspberry Pi.
9 http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/HDMI.html Needed to define what a
HDMI port is, and a bit of
background research on it
for my description of
Raspberry Pi
10 http://www.raspberrypi.org/help/faqs/#networkingWifi Needed so I can say that
the Raspberry Pi doesn’t do
wireless networking, and I
needed a USB WiFi dongle.
11 http://www.dlink.com/uk/en/home-
solutions/connect/adapters/dwa-121-wireless-n-150-pico-
usb-adapter
Needed information about
my chosen WiFi dongle, the
DWA-121
12 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cpu Needed definition of CPU
for the description of my
Raspberry Pi
13 http://www.techterms.com/definition/gpu Needed definition of GPU
Raspberry Pi
14 http://www.techterms.com/definition/ram Needed definition of RAM
Raspberry Pi
15 http://elinux.org/RPi_Screens This page contains some
useful information about
the CSI and DSI ports on
the top of the Raspberry Pi
16 http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/integrated-circuit-IC Needed definition of an
Integrated Circuit for the
alternatives to the
Raspberry Pi
17 http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardUno This page gives general
information on the Arduino
Uno board, needed for
alternatives to my
Raspberry Pi.
18 http://beagleboard.org/black This page contains general
information about the
BeagleBone Black board,
which I needed it for my
alternatives to the
Raspberry Pi board.
19 http://www.pcbheaven.com/wikipages/How_DC_Motors_Wo
rk/
This website shows you how
DC Motors work, which I

needed for my Types of
Motors page
20 http://www.robotroom.com/DPDT-Bidirectional-Motor-
Switch.html
This page describes how
you can switch the direction
of a DC Motor using a
bidirectional switch. I
adapted this example to
suit my needs.
21 http://www.jameco.com/jameco/workshop/howitworks/how
-servo-motors-work.html
servo motors work, which I
needed for my Types of
Motors page
22 http://www.pcbheaven.com/wikipages/How_Stepper_Motors
_Work/
stepper motors work, which
I needed for my Types of
Motors page
23 https://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=colle
ction/umo_/lessons/umo_sensorswork/umo_sensorswork_l
esson06.xml
This website explained how
an ultrasonic sensor works,
which I needed for my
Monitoring the
surroundings page.
24 http://www.ezdenki.com/ultrasonic.php This website provided the
timing chart and
information about the HC-
SR04 sensor which I
needed for the Monitoring
the Surroundings page.
25 http://www.buildcircuit.com/simple-ultrasonic-range-finder-
using-hc-sr04/
Practical test data and
interpretation for the HC-
SR4 sensor, which I need
for my Monitoring the
Surroundings page and my
Secondary Data
26 http://www.rp-
photonics.com/distance_measurements_with_lasers.html
This website explained how
laser rangefinders work,
Alternatives to Ultrasonic
sensor page.
27 https://www.modmypi.com/raspberry-pi-camera-board This webpage outlined the
specs of the Raspberry Pi
Camera, which I needed for
my Camera section
28 http://raspi.tv/2013/pinoir-whats-it-for-comparison-of-
raspicam-and-pi-noir-output-in-daylight
This webpage showed the
comparison between the
normal camera and the Pi
NoIR, which I needed for
my Maintaining Visibility
section
29 http://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=6
050&start=50
I got the minimum and
maximum current values
for the Raspberry Pi from
this website, which I
needed for my Li-ion
Battery Pack section
30 http://www.xrdp.org/ This is the official website
for XRDP, which I needed
for the Remote Control
section

31 http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-
04/terrifying-robot-snake-will-rescue-you-whether-you-it-or-
not?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=3&con=IMG
This is an article about a
snake-like rescue robot,
Rescue Robots Today
section
32 http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-
08/sandias-gemini-scout-rescue-robot-optimized-mining-
disasters?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=6&con=IMG
Gemini-Scout – a robot that
is used for search and
rescue in mining accidents,
Rescue Robots Today
section
33 http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-03/six-
robots-could-shape-future-earthquake-search-and-
rescue?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=7&con=IMG
Japanese Earthquake robot,
formerly used as a Fire
Rescue robot, which I
needed for my Rescue
Robots Today section

PRODUCTION LOG
Action Resources Date / Time Duration
Carried out a rough research to plan how to
construct my “When will you die?” medical
calculator. I was especially looking for different
conditions that have a definite effect on your
health, such as smoking, overuse of alcohol,
healthy eating, exercise… I have created a list
of different possible variables that each user of
my application will have to fill in with their own
personal data.
http://www.nhs.uk
/Tools/Pages/NH
SAtlasofrisk.aspx
http://www.who.in
t/hia/evidence/do
h/en/
http://www.nwph.
net/nwpho/inequa
lities/health_wealt
h_ch20_(2).pdf
04/08/14 16:00 2 hours
Had a conversation with my computing
teacher, and after a careful analysis of my
research, I have concluded that my current
idea for a project is not good. Firstly, there are
an enormous amount of factors that affect
your health, most of which are still
inconclusive. Not only that, but also none of
the factors have a definite time that they
prolong or shorten your life by. Therefore, my
calculator would most likely give very
inaccurate results. There are a possible ways
to solve this problem, for example, to carry out
a few studies on a selected group of people,
but that would take too much time, and it
would be hard to monitor every aspect of those
people’s lives to ensure controlled conditions.
Also, the way I wanted to lay out and present
the data in my application is impossible with
any programming language I currently know,
and although I have nothing against learning a
new programming language to suit my needs,
it would be too time consuming to do it for my
project.
Computing
teacher
06/08/14 11:00 30 minutes
I was informed by email that our school is
purchasing 10 new Raspberry Pi development
boards, and I became the leader of the
programming club for these new Pi’s. This
gave me the idea to do something interesting
using a Raspberry Pi for my EPQ, something
that is challenging but also useful and has
real-world applications.
Head of ICT
Computing
teacher
07/08/14 18:00 30 minutes
Carried out research on Raspberry Pi. As I
already knew how to operate it, I was looking
for ideas on what to do with it. I had a couple
of ideas like a helicopter, tank, or a drone or
something of that kind. At some point during
this research, I already had a good idea of
what was possible and what wasn’t (with my
budget, current hardware, and my
programming skills). I was also inspired by a
http://www.ted.co
m/talks/vijay_ku
mar_robots_that_f
ly_and_cooperate?
language=en
http://www.raspb
errypi.org/tag/rob
ots/
08/08/14 15:30 1 hour

TED video that I found, which made me like
the idea of building a robot for my EPQ.
I made a definite decision to build a robot from
my Raspberry Pi. After a short research, I set
out specific criteria for this project. The robot
will be a small rectangular drone, which will
move using wheels, sense its surroundings
using an array of sensors, have a camera, and
be able to be controlled remotely. This is to
emulate the idea of a rescue drone.
http://www.raspb
errypi.org/an-
image-processing-
robot-for-robocup-
junior/
http://www.thereg
ister.co.uk/2012/
06/12/raspberry_
pi_drone/
12/08/14 19:00 1 hour
During my computing class, I had a discussion
with my computing teacher about my possible
robot idea. He gave me the idea of
programming my robot to solve mazes. We
decided on building a maze that is a 10 by 10
grid with movable tiles. That way, when a robot
finishes the maze, it can be shuffled and
redone again. I then brought the discussion to
me fellow computing student, and we each
had a go on making an algorithm to solve a
maze. We then came up with a total of three
algorithms, that I will try program my robot to
follow and solve a maze. We can then identify
which algorithm is more efficient.
Computing
teacher, fellow
computing student
14/08/14 9:00 1 hour
Did research on a possible way of visually
mapping the maze as the robot sees it. I
thought it could use the ultrasound sensors to
gauge the distance and find on which four
sides there is a wall. Without employing any
other programming languages, the only easy
way of mapping the maze is using simple
ASCII characters such as “|” and “_” to draw a
map. I also thought about not displaying
anything at all, and simply using a built in
array.
Python, Visual
Basic
14/08/14 16:00 1 hour
Made my final decision that I will make a
rescue robot, using the specifications I laid out
before. I also decided on my final title “How to
save a life with Pi” and I will talk about what
makes a good rescue robot. I have updated my
dissertation and project proposal sheet
accordingly.
Dissertation,
Project proposal
sheet
17/08/14 22:30 30 minutes
Had a discussion over lunch with a fellow EPQ
student about my project. He gave me an idea
that I should add some ethical issues into my
project. After further discussion, I decided that
I will also talk about questions like “Would
people ever trust rescue robots with their
lives?” and other ethical issues that might
pose a problem to rescue robots.
Fellow EPQ
student
18/08/14 13:00 30 minutes
Collected primary data on the
charge/discharge rates of certain batteries,
and kept a log of it in an Excel Sheet. This data
will later be analysed.
Assorted Li-ion
batteries.
21/08/14 19:00 3 hours

Made a list of all the components that I will be
discussing about: The Raspberry Pi, a motor,
an ultrasonic sensor, a camera, and a battery
pack.
Components 23/08/14 14:00 30 minutes
Wired up my Raspberry Pi to one of the school
computers, set up the OS which is Raspbian,
then did a few tests of
mouse/keyboard/monitor. For updates I had
to use a LAN cable, as the WiPi dongle that
came with the Raspberry Pi seemed not to
have worked.
Raspberry Pi,
Mouse, Keyboard,
Monitor, Ethernet
Cable
25/08/14 16:00 1 hour 30
minutes
Got myself a new WiFi Nano USB Dongle,
which I tested on the RPi and it works.
Wifi Dongle 27/08/14 20:00 30 minutes
Set up my RPi with XRDP – a remote desktop
software. This will enable me to control the RPi
from any RDP enabled device, with only power
and USB WiFi connected to the actual RPi
board. I have also successfully established a
test connection using my Microsoft Surface RT
Microsoft Surface
RT
http://www.xrdp.o
rg/
28/08/14 15:00 1 hour
I have updated my dissertation to include an
up-to-date log and the layout that I will use to
write my final dissertation into, as preparation
for my Mid-project review. I also completed my
project proposal sheet up do the mid-project
review section.
Dissertation,
Project proposal
sheet
31/08/14 19:00 2 hours
We had our mock Mid-Project Review, where
we all commented on each other’s progress.
We set each other targets to complete by the
official Mid-Project Review
EPQ supervisor,
fellow EPQ
students
03/09/14 16:00 2 hours
Completed my tasks for my Mid-Project
Review, updated my project proposal page and
worked on my dissertation
Project proposal
page, Dissertation
05/09/14 21:00 1 hour
Mid-Project Review, I was told to improve on
my title, and to write more detail in my Project
Proposal sheet
EQP Supervisor 10/09/14 16:00 1 hour
Finished the first draft of my survey on ethics
of rescue robots
http://www.google
.com/forms/about
/
11/09/14 20:00 1 hour
After feedback on my survey, I improved on my
survey and deployed it.
EPQ Supervisor
http://www.google
.com/forms/about
/
13/09/14 10:00 1 hour
Spent two hours on typing my dissertation.
Finished it up to “Movement using Stepper
Motors”
Dissertation 23/09/14 22:00 2 hours
Spent two more hours on typing up my
dissertation. Finished it up to “Remote Control”
Started working on my presentation, as the
deadline was get close
Presentation 03/10/14 17:00 1 hour
Worked on my dissertation. Finished sorting
out and analysing primary and secondary data

Worked on my presentation, completed the
text, just need to add images, animation and
videos
Presentation 10/10/14 21:00 2 hours
Finished off my presentation, and it is now
ready to be presented
Presentation 15/10/14 19:00 1 hour
Did two more hours on my dissertation,
finished it up to conclusion, just need to sort
out my log and bibliography
Did my EPQ Presentation EPQ Supervisor 21/10/14 15:30 1 hour
Completed my dissertation Dissertation 23/10/14 23:00 3 hours
Finished my Project Proposal sheet Project Proposal
Sheet
24/10/10 11:00 1 hour
END OF EPQ EPQ Supervisor 24/10/10 12:00 -----
SIGNIFICANT PROJECT AREAS
During this project, I have made some decisions that were more significant than others. Those are
highlighted in yellow above, and summarised here:
- 17/08/14 - Made my final decision that I would build and talk about rescue robots
- 10/09/14 - Mid-Project Review
- 21/10/14 - EPQ Presentation
- 24/10/14 - End of EPQ
WORD COUNT
Total word count excluding footnotes, titles and the appendix: 6775 words
Abstract: 291 words
Introduction: 237 words
Methodology: 333 words
Research Review: 235 words
How to Save a Life with Pi: 5179 words
Conclusion: 500 words

EPQ Dissertation

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