Bomb Disposal Robot History
The original bomb disposal "Robot" was invented in 1972 by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Miller. Cobbled together from the chassis of an electrically operated wheelbarrow and designed to carry a hook beneath a car so that it could be towed to a safe location without endangering an EOD officer. These initial "Wheelbarrow's" have been through dozens of generations over the decades and have evolved into modern machines equipped with pincers, disruptors and jammers capable of taking on most improvised explosive devices and even some of the expert-made ones.
Besides the human cost of losing a bomb technician in the field, training a bomb-disposal officer is significantly more expensive than buying an EOD robot. As a result, maintaining a safe distance from a potential bomb is of paramount importance and only in extreme situations will the technician enter the blast range and put their hands on the device themselves.
In most cases, the technician working with the bomb disposal robot will sit at a safe distance with the control station. This is a laptop-like device which consists of a monitor showing the robot’s point of view as well as its surroundings, plus a joystick and control panel to manipulate the arm and manoeuvre the tracks. More details
In most cases, the technician working with the bomb disposal robot will sit at a safe distance with the control station. This is a laptop-like device which consists of a monitor showing the robot’s point of view as well as its surroundings, plus a joystick and control panel to manipulate the arm and manoeuvre the tracks. More details