Analysis of Interior Rubble Void Spaces at Champlain Towers South Collapse

TL;DR

This study uses aerial imagery to create a 3D model of the Champlain Towers South collapse, identifying interior voids to inform robotic search strategies in disaster response.

Contribution

It introduces a method to analyze and visualize interior rubble voids using aerial imagery, aiding robotic platform design and control for rescue operations.

Findings

Interior voids are few and small in scale.

The 3D model helps identify potential rescue pathways.

Results inform robotic design and deployment strategies.

Abstract

The 2021 Champlain Towers South Condominiums collapse in Surfside, Florida, resulted 98 deaths. Nine people are thought to have survived the initial collapse, and might have been rescued if rescue workers could have located them. Perhaps, if rescue workers had been able to use robots to search the interior of the rubble pile, outcomes might have been better. An improved understanding of the environment in which a robot would have to operate to be able to search the interior of a rubble pile would help roboticists develop better suited robotic platforms and control strategies. To this end, this work offers an approach to characterize and visualize the interior of a rubble pile and conduct a preliminary analysis of the occurrence of voids. Specifically, the analysis makes opportunistic use of four days of aerial imagery gathered from responders at Surfside to create a 3D volumetric aggregated model of the collapse in order to identify and characterize void spaces in the interior of the rubble. The preliminary results confirm expectations of small number and scale of these interior voids. The results can inform better selection and control of existing robots for disaster response, aid in determining the design specifications (specifically scale and form factor), and improve control of future robotic platforms developed for search operations in rubble.