[Robotics]+[Progress]: QuakeScan Post-Disaster Building Assessment Robot Swarm Marks All Hazardous Structures Within 72 Hours

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The 72 hours following an earthquake are the golden window for rescue, but structural safety assessment of damaged buildings is equally urgent—unsafe structures can collapse at any moment, threatening the lives of rescue workers and residents. In May 2030, the QuakeScan robot swarm, jointly developed by Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency and the University of Tokyo, saw its first real-world deployment during reconstruction efforts on the Noto Peninsula.

QuakeScan comprises three types of robots working in coordination: ground quadruped robots responsible for approaching buildings and entering interiors for close-range inspection; aerial drones responsible for exterior facade and rooftop image collection; and wall-climbing robots responsible for traversing vertical surfaces and using ultrasonic sensors to detect internal concrete cracks.

Masatoshi Ishikawa, University of Tokyo robotics professor and project lead, said: "Post-disaster environments are extremely complex—roads blocked by debris, building structures uncertain, aftershocks随时可能发生. Having robots replace human engineers for preliminary assessments in hazardous areas both protects personnel safety and accelerates the assessment process."

During actual deployment on the Noto Peninsula, the QuakeScan robot swarm completed structural safety assessments of 3,000 buildings within 48 hours, categorizing each building as "safe," "needs further inspection," or "dangerous." Traditional manual assessment at equivalent scale would require at least two weeks.

Assessment accuracy was 91%. Among buildings marked "dangerous," 97% were subsequently confirmed by professional engineers to have severe structural damage.

However, QuakeScan's robot swarm has limited maneuverability in extreme conditions (such as buildings that have completely collapsed into rubble piles). Additionally, the robots' single-mission endurance is only 2 hours, with frequent charging requirements affecting continuous operational efficiency.

Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency plans to deploy QuakeScan to 50 fire headquarters nationwide by 2031 and push for its inclusion in Japan's disaster emergency standard operating procedures.