Designing a Robot to Counter Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices
- Magazine Feature Article
- 16AERP05_05
- English
The use of Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) has increased each year. Current anti-VBIED technology is not only expensive, but requires months or years of training by Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) technicians to operate the equipment. The process of unloading the EOD robot, attaching the detonation wire to the robot, attaching the water charge to the EOD robot, driving the water charge to the VBIED, placing the charge under the vehicle, and then retrieving the EOD robot is a time consuming event. With a typical EOD robot costing $100k - $200k, there is a large financial risk to the EOD team if the robot is damaged or destroyed in the process. WM Robots PAWN was developed to offer the EOD technicians another option in reducing the time needed to neutralize the threat and cost of the operation.
Based on EOD Squad feedback, a need was identified for a low cost solution to complement the current procedures for VBIED neutralization. The feedback identified the major design criteria and represented some of the design challenges of PAWN:
Low cost, expendable; Video for non-Line of Sight (nLoS) operation; 500 feet of tethered operation, including control, video transmission, and electronic detonation cable; Simple operation, minimal training to operate; Operation on semi-improved roads with normal debris; Deployment in third world countries.