Robot Could Aid in Investigating Effects of Extreme Heat

Arizona researchers have introduced a robot capable of mimicking human bodily responses such as breathing, shivering, and sweating in order to address the effects of heatstroke on the human body and explore ways to safeguard ourselves in a progressively warming world.

The southwestern state capital of Phoenix is currently experiencing its longest heat wave on record, with the mercury hitting 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) on Friday for the 22nd day in a row, an ominous sign of what’s to come in a world affected by climate change.

For humans, such heat represents a potentially deadly threat that is still not fully understood. But for ANDI—a unique humanoid robot at Arizona State University—it’s a lovely day outside.

“He’s the world’s first outdoor thermal manikin that we can routinely take outside and … measure how much heat he’s getting from the environment,” mechanical engineering professor Konrad Rykaczewski told AFP.

ANDI is “a very realistic way to experimentally measure how humans respond to extreme climates” without endangering the humans themselves, Rykaczewski says.

At first glance ANDI, which stands for Advanced Newton Dynamic Instrument, resembles a simple crash test dummy.

But its epoxy/carbon fiber shell hides a treasure trove of technology, like a network of connected sensors that assess the heat spreading through the body.

ANDI also has an internal cooling system and pores that allow it to breathe and sweat. There are 35 independent heat zones, and like humans, the robot – which cost more than half a million dollars to build – sweats more from its back.

Until now, there were only a dozen mannequins of this type, and none of them got to go outside.

Sports equipment manufacturers used them mainly to test technical clothing in thermal chambers.

Hyperthermia, the condition of the 21st century

The researchers hope the robot will provide a better understanding of hyperthermia – that is, overheating of the body, a condition that threatens a growing part of the world’s population as a result of global warming.

For obvious ethical reasons, “nobody measures the rise in core temperature when someone gets heatstroke,” Rykaczewski says. But the effects of heat on the human body are still not fully understood. ANDI enables researchers to understand.

MaRTy (Mean Radiant Temperature), a mobile weather station that measures the heat reflected by the buildings around it, is accompanied by a robot taking its first steps outside in Phoenix – the ideal laboratory to prepare for tomorrow’s climate.

“How do we change our clothing? How do we change our behaviors and adapt them to temperatures of this magnitude?” says Rykaczewski.

Andi is also infinitely programmable. The research team can make “dummy digital twins to look at different population groups,” explains climate scientist Jennifer Vanos, who is involved in the project.

For example, the older you get, the less you sweat. Young people need a different kind of protection from athletes or those who are in bad shape. ANDI allows researchers to simulate the thermoregulatory mechanisms specific to each individual.

Phoenix, the test lab of the future

They can also test the robot in different situations. For example, Phoenix is dry – what about humid heat? How does the human body withstand hot winds?

Their research is useful in designing heat-resistant clothing, thinking about urban planning and protecting the most vulnerable.

In Phoenix, which opens dozens of cooling centers for the homeless each summer, their findings could guide social workers.

“How long should a person be in the cooling center cooling down, so that their core temperature drops back to a safe level? We can answer the question with Andi,” says Vanos.

The team also dreams of developing low-cost sensors for use on construction sites to adjust working hours based on the actual heat and health of workers on the site – rather than based on general weather conditions.

It could be “a step toward better security than just these empty recommendations per city, state, and country,” Rykaczewski says.

Such specific, tailored solutions can have global effects that redraw entire cities.

“If the future of Paris looks like Phoenix now, we can learn a lot about building design,” says Rykaczewski.