Villanova Tests Safer, Cheaper 'Bomb Squad' In Developing World
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's one of the deadly legacies of war: countries like Cambodia and Angola have millions of unexploded ordnance, mines and mortar shells and other devices that haven't detonated and still pose a serious hazard. Now, a team at Villanova University is testing a robotic 'bomb squad' it has built for the developing world.
The robot rolls on four wheels to check out something suspicious.
"Is an arm, which can move around and manipulate unexploded ordnance or improvised explosive devices," Villanova mechanical engineering professor Garrett Clayton said.
Clayton said cameras on the robot allows its human operator to be a safe distance away -- around 100 yards.
"You can poke it, see what it is," Clayton said. "If you decide it's a threat, you can take a small explosive charge, have the robot carry it out there, place it on the package of interest or the suspicious thing, and explode it from a safe distance."
It can also shoot a blast of water.
"And that can actually separate the fuse from the explosives in the device."
Using the palm-sized Raspberry Pi computer and a Arduino microcontroller, Clayton and his students have managed to make an explosive ordnance disposal robot for about $10,000 -- a fraction of the cost of a military-grade unit. They've been testing it in Cambodia, and are hoping for interest from investors.
"We have robots that can vacuum our floors, self-driving cars are not too far from reality, but that tech isn't affecting the developing world yet. I think that it can. We're going to make explosive ordnance disposal in the developing world safer."
