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Firefighters To Find Their Way Out Of Burning Buildings With... Glowing Neon Balls?
Posted by John Mahoney at 1:15 AM on October 23, 2008
Life Pebbles won the grand prize award at the Seoul Design Competition, promising to help firefighters combat the disorientation of a burning by dropping a trail of neon-glowing capsules like Hansel-and-Gretel-style breadcrumbs on the way in. Interesting, perhaps, but at a time when location-aware augmented reality via all kinds of heads-up displays (and even mobile phones) is becoming more reality than dream, is a canister of periodically dropped glowing neon balls inspired by a fucking creepy 16th-century fairy tale really the answer to this problem? [Aving]
Researchers are using a technique called simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) to develop helmets that rescue workers can use to navigate through heavy smoke. The helmet features an infrared laser scanner and software that bounces signals off walls and uses that data to create a map of the surrounding area. 
Back in 1931 Modern Mechanix magazine ran an article about an invention used by German firefighters to protect themselves from being engulfed in flames. The simple device consisted of a helmet with a built-in sprinkler system that connects with a nozzle on the hose. Using a hand lever, the firefighter could control the amount of spray needed for a given situation. Clever—but it seems that fighting a fire in something that looks like an old-timey deep sea diving helmet might prove problematic. [
