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Humanitarian makers: 3D printing for disaster relief

FEATURE

o lift heavy debris such as concrete

slabs weighing several tons, specialist

equipment is required, but the

extremes of war make obtaining these

necessary rescue tools an almost

impossible task. Lifting airbags are

available to well-supplied search and rescue teams,

but are prohibitively expensive to all but the most

well-funded humanitarian organisations. In

response, Field Ready has developed a means to

locally produce lifting airbags for less than 10% of

the commercial cost while still meeting international

safety standards.

In March of 2017, Field Ready’s airbag system

was used to save lives in Syria after a car bomb

explosion caused extreme destruction to a hospital

and residential area in Idlib. The area search and

rescue team were informed that a family of four

LOCALLY MADE

AIRBAGS

Developing rescue equipment for Syria

were still trapped beneath the rubble of their

collapsed home, including a little girl who was

pinned by a large piece of the collapsed ceiling.

A safe passage was created within the building

by removing as much debris as possible before

placing the airbag system under one corner of the

house to lift the collapsed roof and carry the family

out from rubble to safety. Although the little girl

sustained a broken leg that required surgery, she is

recovering well and already back on her feet. So far

eight people have been saved by the airbag system,

and many more lives will be spared thanks to this

critical device.

Field Ready’s lifting airbags comply with the same

conventional UK safety standards of airbags already

used commercially. In Europe, CE marking is the

standard that new products must meet before they

can be sold, imported, or put into service. Where

T

Above

A 90% reduction in

manufacturing costs

leads directly to more

lives being saved

Credit

Field Ready