Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed an indigenous remotely operated counter-terrorist robot vehicle, equipped with sensors, which detects and defuses buried mines and improvised explosive devices.
Fielding a six-axis manipulator arms with a gripper for handling explosives, the robot can operate over a range of 500 metres and can prove ideal for locating buried mines and improvised explosive devices used by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, DRDO officials said.
Powered by special batteries, which can run for three hours without recharging, the robots are also armed with multiple cameras and sensors, they added.
The new system developed for handling IEDs uses portable x-ray device for detection and explosive-based water jet disrupter to defuse them. For mine detection, the robot uses mine detector in front of the vehicle equipped with scanners and sensors.
While, the robot can pick up mines and IEDs from almost half a kilometer away even when on the move, it can defuse explosives of up to 20kg.
"The robot is driven with the help of master control station having operators with switches, joysticks and optional touch-screen interface for remote control and guidance," the scientists said, adding that these systems will be mounted on specially-designed Swaraj Mazda carrier Vehicles.
DRDO officials said the robots, when equipped with radiation measurement and automatic control units and portable gas chromatograph can be used to carry out fight nuclear as well as biological contamination. DRDO's Pune based Research and Development establishment has developed the bomb disposal robots and already two engineered prototypes of the robots are under trial, officials said, adding that the robots, on being inducted, will prove quite handy to forces battling naxals.