HEATSeeker

Overview & Core Functionality

HEATSeeker is a search-and-rescue embedded system consisting of a differential-drive robot and a pair of smart HUD glasses. The robot uses an IR thermal camera to detect heat sources such as people or hotspots, streams thermal data wirelessly, and enables operators to navigate safely in low-visibility environments.

Problem Statement: Safer Navigation

In disaster environments, smoke, darkness, debris, and structural instability make it unsafe for humans to enter directly. Existing robotic solutions often require operators to split attention across multiple screens or rely solely on manual control.

System Architecture

The handheld controller sends joystick commands and control modes to the robot. The robot streams thermal frames and system status to the HUD glasses, creating a closed-loop human-in-the-loop system.

Tracking & Control

HEATSeeker implements proportional feedback control to track the hottest pixel in the thermal image. A dead zone prevents oscillations, while X/Y error correction steers and drives the robot toward the target.

• Dead-zone based error suppression
• Yaw correction using horizontal error
• Forward motion based on vertical error

Subsystems