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There were many challenges that were encountered.  The first problem that occurred was that we had a very hard time choosing what sensors would go onto the robot. Heat sensors detect body heat when in contact with a person, and it takes about 30sec to measure 1°. The next idea was to have the robot measure the gas in the environment to tell if the air was dangerous or if there were people around. It was soon realized soon that there was no way to tell if this robot actually worked because it could not be tested with toxic gasses.  The final idea was to program the robot to detect the sounds people make.  Detecting sound would be a better choice since it could be tested easily through human voices or other noises.

The first design that was originally proposed was to be built out of Plexiglas, but if the robot was designed to be used in natural disasters Plexiglas would melt easily due to heat.  The new design was made with aluminum plates. 

In the future, the robot would be made smaller.  It would then be able to maneuver better through tighter spaces.  Rubber balloons were also added to the bottom of the legs on the final product to provide more traction. The circuitry should also be reduced so that it would be able fit on the robot.  Instead of using whiskers to detect what is in the robot’s path, infrared sensors could be used since they are very small and perform the same task.  In future research, wheels could be attached to the robot so it can move faster on flat terrain.