How Do Robots Dismantle Bombs?

Key Takeaways

there's a saying that Judy texts were a jack-of-all-trades but we are a Masters of demolition blowing stuff up that's the creme de la creme of being a beauty tech there are likely over 100 million unexploded bombs scattered across the globe every day US Air Force members are putting themselves in harm's way working to disarm disable and dismantle them absolutely it's a scary mission these devices can explode at any time the servicemen and women who use our robots are always putting their life on the line every single step you're thinking is there something else I could be doing is there's something else that I could do is this the best choice these bombs could explode at any moment hurting or killing anyone around the only thing the suits gonna do is just keep the pieces together start remote stay remote is one of our big mantras at endeavor robotics they build robots that allow servicemen and women to do just that their BOTS let military personnel dismantle bombs remotely instead of having to go in themselves we want to remove folks from harm's way we take this job very seriously as robot designers and as human beings to make sure that we're really helping personnel of the way those dangerous situations the robot goes downrange to interact with the device and the operator can do that from a safe distance way we want to give them the best technology that we can the most cutting-edge technologies our robots are equipped with manipulator that allows the operator to interrogate device and move it open it up and look inside it's a lot of fun honestly it gets drive around this robot and go do all kinds of cool stuff if a robot is equipped with a disruptor then it's able to fire disruptor and neutralize the device they can shoot out the water shop and destroy the suspicious object our robots contain a variety of different technology they're packed with computers that can run sophisticated algorithms so that they can navigate it autonomously they can build their own Maps they can do object recognition through their cameras they can detect radiation and toxic gases these robots are incredibly high-tech but it wasn't always this way we started out we had a 700-pound collective tank rumbling down the road to us now we have robots that are small enough we can throw in a backpack and just go our first look robot is a five-pound throwable robot so if you can imagine a scenario where we've got troops coming up to a structure well you don't know what's in that structure and you want to avoid putting our servicemen and women in harm's way and you do that by just throwing the first little thing out through a window or an opening and then letting the robot be the first set of eyes inside the building small robots serve their purpose but sometimes bigger robots have the only way to get the job done every situation is a little bit different sometimes you need a big robot to go interrogate a vehicle because you think there might be a vehicle based I you D is that car ladies with expensive you might have to tear open the truck you might have to smash the window or tear open the door to figure out if in fact that car is a threat whether they're five or five hundred pounds robots of all sizes are crucial players in military tactics robots can never replace a person the robots will really allow personnel to focus on their jobs Wow you know removing the really dull dirty and dangerous jobs I am letting the robots do that it's not just your life that depends on it its life of your brother standing next to you it's absolutely critical that we employ the best technology the best robotic technology to keep our Air Force personnel safe handling dangerous devices and this is the type of technology that can keep them out of harm's way everyone here and everyone is proud to be helping our servicemen and women with their jobs and to help bring them home safely doing on those tough days but ok at the end of the day we're supplying robots that will help save a person's life and that's worth it this episode was presented by the US Air Force learn more at Air Force comm for more episodes of science of the extremes check out this one right here don't forget to subscribe and come back to seeker for more episodes you