TU Graz Researchers on Disaster Relief Mission

By Birgit Baustädter Forest fires, floods, falling rocks and other natural disasters are increasingly causing damage to built structures and, in the worst case, to people. TU Graz researchers are trying to help. Whether by means of rescue robots, autonomous drones or in securing structures, TU Graz researchers are involved in emergency management and disaster relief in a variety of ways. In addition to numerous research projects, this is also done in Austria's first volunteer university fire brigade, or within the framework of the Disaster Competence Network Austria (DCNA), a competence network for security and disaster research, which was launched by Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) together with the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, and which emergency organizations as well as university and non-university research institutions have now joined. The volunteer research fire brigade of TU Graz. In 2018, the first volunteer research fire brigade was founded at TU Graz. The members are staff, students, teachers and alumni of TU Graz and are involved in innovative technologies to support rescue workers and knowledge transfer.