An IoT-enabled distributed robotic ecosystem designed for real-time hazard identification, atmospheric profiling, GPS mapping, active firefighting, and survivors searching.
Built by the Disaster Techies for ZYRO Hackathon organised by Kalyani Government Engineering College.
When disaster strikes—be it industrial gas leaks, chemical fires, or structural collapses—sending human responders inside is highly hazardous. This Disaster Scouting & Rescue Rover is a smart, distributed robotic platform built to scout hazard zones, transmit real-time telemetry, and autonomously suppress hazards.
The rover's electronic brain consists of a three-node ESP32 cluster cooperating asynchronously over a public MQTT network. Together with an interactive Cyberpunk-themed Web Ground Control Station (GCS) and a secure Telegram Bot interface, the system provides live environmental analytics, automatic warning sirens, and cloud blackbox logging.
- 🏆 Award Winner: Evaluated and awarded "Best Beginners Team" at the prestigious ZYRO Hackathon (Kalyani Government Engineering College).
- 🌐 Multi-Core Distributed Architecture: Workload is balanced across 3 independent ESP32 microcontrollers communicating via MQTT.
- 🚒 Autonomous Fire Suppression: Integrated flame sensors command a sweeping servo water nozzle and high-volume spray pump.
- ☣️ Toxic Gas Signature Detection: Reads and classifies data from MQ2, MQ9, and MQ135 sensors to flag hazardous air quality.
- 🛰️ Real-Time GPS Mapping: Streamlined GNSS tracking using a NEO-6M module for instant coordinate mapping on Google Maps.
- 📱 Dual Remote Portals: A sleek local Web GCS Dashboard for manual operations and a non-blocking Universal Telegram Bot with automated danger notifications.
The robot splits its operational payload among three ESP32 microcontrollers to ensure non-blocking execution of timing-sensitive tasks (like servo sweeps, motor PWM, GPS parsing, and SD card file writing).
graph TD
%% MQTT Broker
Broker[HiveMQ MQTT Broker]
style Broker fill:#8b5cf6,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff;
%% ESP Node 1
subgraph ESP1 [ESP32 - Control & Actuation]
direction TB
E1[Core Loop]
Motor[BTS7960 Motor Driver]
Arm[4-Axis Robotic Arm]
PanTilt[2-Axis Camera Gimbal]
Siren[Passive Buzzer Alert]
Web1[Local Control WebServer]
US[Ultrasonic Collision Guard]
end
style ESP1 fill:#1e1b4b,stroke:#06b6d4,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff;
%% ESP Node 2
subgraph ESP2 [ESP32 - Blackbox & Gateway]
direction TB
E2[Core Loop]
SDCard[VSPI SD Reader]
TeleBot[Universal Telegram Bot]
Firebase[Firebase Cloud DB]
Web2[SD File Server]
end
style ESP2 fill:#180f2b,stroke:#f59e0b,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff;
%% ESP Node 3
subgraph ESP3 [ESP32 - Front Scout & Firefighter]
direction TB
E3[Core Loop]
Flame[3x Flame Sensors]
Relay[Extinguisher Pump Relay]
Sweep[Servo Sweeper Nozzle]
NEO6[NEO-6M GPS Module]
DHT[DHT11 Temp/Hum]
GasSensors[MQ2, MQ9, MQ135 Gas Payload]
end
style ESP3 fill:#1c1917,stroke:#ef4444,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff;
%% Raspberry Pi Node
subgraph RPi [Raspberry Pi - Video Streamer]
direction TB
PiOS[Raspberry Pi OS]
CSICam[CSI Night Vision Camera]
RTSPSrv[RTSP Stream Server]
end
style RPi fill:#1f1625,stroke:#ec4899,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff;
%% Connections
ESP3 -- Telemetry & Fire Status --> Broker
Broker -- Commands/Speed/Angles --> ESP1
Broker -- Raw Telemetry Feed --> ESP2
ESP2 -- Alerts / Geo-location --> TeleBot
ESP2 -- Alert Backups --> Firebase
RPi -- Live RTSP Feed --> VLC[VLC Media Player]
RPi -- Dashboard Overlay (Custom IP) --> WebGCS[GCS Web Dashboard]
classDef default fill:#111827,stroke:#374151,color:#f3f4f6;
The custom physical chassis of the Disaster Scouting & Rescue Rover:
The custom Ground Control Station portal starts with a boot loader sequence terminal and opens into a full telemetry control panel:
The GCS integrates a Leaflet JS map that visualizes live coordinates and paths taken by the rover:
A dedicated bot that allows engineers to query telemetry, fetch Google Maps paths, and command emergency overrides:
Telemetry logs are saved locally to the ESP2 SD Card Reader, and emergency alert payloads are backed up to the Firebase cloud:
The "Best Beginners Team" at Kalyani Government Engineering College celebrating the ZYRO Hackathon award:
Acts as the physical driver of the rover. It receives driving commands, regulates speeds, controls the pan-tilt gimbal, and commands the mechanical arm joints.
- Motor Drive: Controls high-power BTS7960 H-Bridge Drivers via high-frequency ESP32 LEDC PWM.
- Robotic Arm & Gimbal: Coordinates 6 servos (4-axis arm joints + 2-axis camera scanner).
- Ultrasonic Safety Interlocks: Auto-halts/reverses standard driving if front or rear ultrasonic sensors detect obstacles.
- Multi-Tone Acoustic Siren: Plays distinct audio frequencies for various disaster triggers (Gas leaks, Fire, Low Battery, SOS Morse Code).
- Local Web Server: Hosts a styling-optimized web portal for direct offline manual drive and siren triggering.
- Code Location: 1esp.ino
Acts as the central telemetry repository, alert center, and internet gateway.
- SD File Vault: Records telemetry rows in CSV format with automatic header initialization.
- SD File Server: Integrates a file manager web GUI allowing users to view, download, or delete logs directly from a browser.
- Telegram Command Bot: Connects to the Universal Telegram Bot API to respond to user commands (
/status,/location,/stop,/fire_siren,/mute,/toggle_live). - Critical Danger Alerts: Monitors telemetry and sends instant danger messages to Telegram if environmental limits are violated.
- Cloud Synchronizer: Interacts with the Firebase API to push alerts to a Firebase Realtime Database.
- Code Location: 2esp.ino
Acts as the eyes and environmental analysis package of the rover.
- Active Firefighting: Continuously scans 3 flame sensors. If a fire triggers, it energizes a water pump relay and sweeps a servo-mounted water nozzle back and forth from 0° to 180°.
- Atmospheric Sensors: Monitors real-time ambient temperature and humidity using a DHT11.
- Toxic Gas Signature: Analyzes analog values from MQ2, MQ9, MQ135 to classify the current hazard state (e.g., Toxic Gas, Flammable Leak, Chemical VOC).
- NEO-6M GPS Tracker: Runs TinyGPS++ decoding on hardware UART2 to publish geo-location statistics.
- Code Location: 3esp.ino
Acts as the eyes of the rover in absolute darkness, streaming high-definition optical data back to control stations.
- Night Vision Imaging: Utilizes an infrared-cut (IR-Cut) Night Vision CSI Camera module with auxiliary infrared LED illuminators.
- High-Efficiency RTSP Server: Streams raw camera feed over a lightweight RTSP server running on Raspberry Pi OS.
- Multi-Platform Monitoring: Allows real-time viewing of the search-and-rescue stream inside VLC Media Player or embedded inside the GCS Web Dashboard Cockpit by entering the Raspberry Pi's custom local IP address.
The distributed nodes coordinate asynchronously using standard MQTT topics.
| Topic | Publisher | Subscriber(s) | Payload Example / Description |
|---|---|---|---|
rover/control/cmd |
Telegram Bot, Web GCS | ESP1 | F (Forward), B (Backward), L (Left), R (Right), S (Stop) |
rover/control/speed |
Web GCS | ESP1 | 0 to 255 (LEDC PWM Duty Cycle) |
rover/siren/cmd |
ESP3, Telegram Bot, GCS | ESP1 | gas, human, fire, battery, sos, auto, obstacle, stop |
rover/arm/cmd |
Web GCS | ESP1 | {"base":90, "shoulder":45, "elbow":60, "gripper":30} (Servos) |
rover/pantilt/cmd |
Web GCS | ESP1 | {"pan":90, "tilt":45} (Camera Gimbal) |
rover/sensors/dht |
ESP3 | ESP2, Web GCS | {"temp":28.5,"hum":62.4} |
rover/sensors/gps |
ESP3 | ESP2, Web GCS | {"lat":22.989,"lon":88.453,"speed":0.2,"sat":6,"valid":true} |
rover/sensors/gas |
ESP3 | ESP2, Web GCS | {"mq2":{"val":320,"stat":"SAFE"},"mq9":{"val":450,"stat":"SAFE"},...} |
rover/sensors/fire |
ESP3 | ESP2, Web GCS | ON or OFF |
rover/control/status |
ESP1 | ESP2, Web GCS | MOTOR:FORWARD | SPEED:180 |
| Component | Device Pin | ESP32 GPIO | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTS7960 Motor Driver | Left RPWM | GPIO 12 | Left Motor Forward (PWM Channel 1) |
| Left LPWM | GPIO 14 | Left Motor Reverse (PWM Channel 0) | |
| Right RPWM | GPIO 26 | Right Motor Forward (PWM Channel 3) | |
| Right LPWM | GPIO 27 | Right Motor Reverse (PWM Channel 2) | |
| Passive Buzzer | I/O Signal | GPIO 25 | Play sirens & alerts (PWM Channel 4) |
| Gimbal Gimbal | Pan Servo | GPIO 23 | Camera Pan Joint |
| Tilt Servo | GPIO 22 | Camera Tilt Joint | |
| Robotic Arm | Base Servo | GPIO 21 | Arm Base |
| Shoulder Servo | GPIO 19 | Arm Shoulder Joint | |
| Elbow Servo | GPIO 18 | Arm Elbow Joint | |
| Gripper Servo | GPIO 5 | Arm Gripper Claw | |
| Front Ultrasonic | Trigger / Echo | GPIO 4 / GPIO 2 | Collision-Avoidance Front |
| Back Ultrasonic | Trigger / Echo | GPIO 15 / GPIO 13 | Collision-Avoidance Back |
| Component | Device Pin | ESP32 GPIO | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro SD Card Reader | CS (Chip Select) | GPIO 5 | SPI Chip Select |
| SCK | GPIO 18 | SPI Clock | |
| MISO | GPIO 19 | SPI Master In Slave Out | |
| MOSI | GPIO 23 | SPI Master Out Slave In |
| Component | Device Pin | ESP32 GPIO | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flame Detectors | Flame 1 (Left) | GPIO 34 | Digital Input (Low on fire) |
| Flame 2 (Center) | GPIO 35 | Digital Input (Low on fire) | |
| Flame 3 (Right) | GPIO 32 | Digital Input (Low on fire) | |
| Extinguishing Pump | Relay Trigger | GPIO 27 | Digital Output (High = Spray On) |
| Sweeping Servo | SG90 Signal | GPIO 13 | sweeps spray nozzle 0-180 degrees |
| NEO-6M GPS | GPS TX | GPIO 16 | hardware Serial RX2 |
| GPS RX | GPIO 17 | hardware Serial TX2 | |
| Weather Monitor | DHT11 Signal | GPIO 4 | Digital Input |
| MQ-2 Gas Sensor | Analog out | GPIO 33 | Smoke/LPG concentration |
| MQ-9 Gas Sensor | Analog out | GPIO 25 | Flammable Gas / Carbon Monoxide |
| MQ-135 Gas Sensor | Analog out | GPIO 26 | Air Quality index (VOCs) |
The main control interface is a beautifully designed, cyberpunk slate-themed Ground Control Station (dashboard.html). It is fully responsive and communicates over standard web integrations.
(Here is the interactive HUD console structure designed in the project)
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 🌌 Disaster Rover Ground Control Station Portal |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| [HUD COCKPIT FEED] | [MAPPING DASHBOARD (Leaflet JS)] |
| | (Plots live GPS nodes, records path tracks) |
| +----------------------------+ +--------------------------------------------------+
| | | | [ENVIRONMENT SENSORS PANEL] |
| | LIVE CAMERA STREAM | | Temperature: 28.5 °C Humidity: 62.4% |
| | | | MQ2 Smoke: SAFE MQ9 Gas: SAFE |
| +----------------------------+ +--------------------------------------------------+
| Manual Gimbal: [Pan] [Tilt] | [ROBOTIC ARM CONTROLLER] |
| | Base Angle: --[|||]-- |
| [MOTOR CONTROL - TANK DRIVE] | Shoulder Joint: --[|||]-- |
| [FORWARD] | Elbow Joint: --[|||]-- |
| [LEFT] [STOP] [RIGHT] | Gripper Claw: --[|||]-- |
| [BACKWARD] +--------------------------------------------------+
| Power Regulator: ---[|||]--- | [SYSTEM SIRENS COMMANDS] |
| | [BUZZER GAS] [BUZZER FIRE] [MUTE SIREN] |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
- Mapping Engine: Renders a live Leaflet.js Map using OpenStreetMap tiles. It automatically centers on the rover's GPS coordinates and draws a telemetry path trace.
- Sensor Gauge Panels: Formats DHT11 and MQ-gas readings on dynamic cards, lighting up in vibrant red if status transitions to
DANGER. - Manual Override controls: Provides immediate sliders to control the 4-axis robotic arm, pan-tilt gimbal servos, and driving speed.
- Custom Video Integration: Connects to the Raspberry Pi RTSP Night Vision feed using a custom stream input IP address field in the dashboard, updating the live optical panel instantly.
The universal Telegram bot provides a complete secondary command interface.
/status- Returns a Markdown summary of DHT11 metrics, gas concentrations, fire status, and active motor driving direction./location- Decodes coordinate details and generates an instant click-to-open Google Maps tracking link./stop- Immediately publishes an emergency halt (S) override onrover/control/cmdto cut motor power./fire_siren//mute- Manual sound override commands./toggle_live- Activates/Deactivates automatic 10-second location ping updates.
To flash the distributed firmware nodes and deploy the Ground Control Station:
- Arduino IDE (or VS Code with PlatformIO).
- Install the following libraries in Arduino IDE:
PubSubClient(by Nick O'Leary)UniversalTelegramBot(by Brian Gallagnator)ArduinoJson(by Benoit Blanchon)ESP32Servo(by Kevin Harrington)TinyGPS++(by Mikal Hart)DHT sensor library(by Adafruit)
-
WiFi Settings (All Nodes): Open
1esp.ino,2esp.ino, and3esp.inoand configure your credentials:const char* ssid = "YOUR_SSID"; const char* password = "YOUR_PASSWORD";
-
MQTT Broker Config (All Nodes): Point the brokers to your preferred server (Defaults to HiveMQ's public broker):
const char* mqtt_server = "broker.hivemq.com"; const int mqtt_port = 1883;
-
Telegram Bot Integration (ESP2 Specific): Use Telegram's BotFather to generate a bot, and get your Chat ID:
const char* botToken = "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN_FROM_BOTFATHER"; const char* chatID = "YOUR_PERSONAL_CHAT_ID";
-
Firebase Realtime Database (ESP2 Specific): Configure your Firebase Host endpoint to backup disaster logs:
const char* firebaseHost = "https://your-project-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com/";
- Connect ESP32 Node 1 to your PC and upload
ESP32_codes/1esp.ino. - Connect ESP32 Node 2 (with formatted FAT32 MicroSD card inserted) and upload
ESP32_codes/2esp.ino. - Connect ESP32 Node 3 and upload
ESP32_codes/3esp.ino. - Open the Serial Monitors (Baud Rate:
115200) to confirm that all nodes connect to WiFi and successfully establish the MQTT client loop.
This project was conceived, designed, wired, and coded in a high-pressure environment during the ZYRO Hackathon at Kalyani Government Engineering College.
Thanks to the modularity of the distributed 3-ESP32 architecture and the robust communication layers, the system won the Best Beginners Team award. The judges recognized:
- The innovative division of labor across multiple microcontrollers.
- The inclusion of a physical backup system (SD log) alongside live cloud storage (Firebase).
- The redundant control options (Web GCS + Telegram Bot).
- Team Lead & Core Firmware Engineer: Swarnendu Kundu (ItzVoidTech)
- Linux Member: Baibhab Das (ElectroBai)
- Designing Partner: Ayush Shukla (AyushShukla1508)
Feel free to star ⭐ this repository if you found this disaster rover system useful!