More security for bomb disposal specialists

Thanks to the robot, emergency forces can remove suspected terrorist vehicles from a safe distance instead of endangering themselves.

Together with five European partner institutions, ZHAW researchers have developed a robot for bomb disposal units. It enables emergency forces to remove suspected terrorist vehicles from a safe distance instead of entering the danger zone themselves.

If a car bomb is suspected, robots could in future serve the police or the army as a mobile evacuation squad. As part of the EU FP7 research program, ZHAW researchers, together with five European partner institutions from four countries, have developed the 'Autonomous Vehicle Emergency Recovery Tool' (AVERT) was developed. It enables emergency services to quickly and safely remove blocking or suspicious vehicles from delicate positions - for example, in parking garages, underground garages or tunnels.

To do this, the robot is first brought to the site manually. Equipped with cameras and sensors, it creates a 3D image of the entire scene and then moves autonomously to the vicinity of the vehicle to be moved. The robot then deploys four flat mini-robots equipped with scanners - so-called 'bogies'. These autonomously drive under the wheels of the vehicle and lift it a few centimeters. The emergency services then have the option of driving the vehicle away remotely or semi-automatically. This is made possible by the control system for the overall AVERT system developed at the Institute for Mechatronic Systems (IMS) of the ZHAW School of Engineering. ZHAW students were also involved in the research as part of their bachelor's and master's theses.

"Previous methods of removing such vehicles were very dangerous for defusers, especially if the vehicles were in hard-to-reach places," said ZHAW project manager Christopher Henschel. "With AVERT, responders can move the vehicle to be removed in any direction from a safe distance, creating more space for defusing operations - without endangering infrastructure or personnel."

In collaboration with bomb disposal specialists in Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland (Zurich Airport Police and the Scientific Service of the Zurich City Police), AVERT has been tailored to practical needs. During the last months, the robot has already proven itself in various test scenarios. In the near future, AVERT is expected to ideally complement existing strategies and tools and thus increase security during critical operations.