NCJ Number
195394
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 29 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 34-37
Date Published
May 2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes how various types of small robots are ideal for performing work that is too risky or inaccessible for humans.
Abstract
Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute has a 14-foot, 160-pound helicopter, which is designed to perform search and rescue, surveillance, aerial cinematography, and mapping functions. It operates with a unique vision-guided system that can visually lock-on to ground objects and sense relative helicopter position in real-time. As the tracked objects leave the field of view, the odometer selects and tracks new objects to continue sensing helicopter motion. Vision-guided robot helicopters have a number of law enforcement applications, such as patrolling an area and reporting interesting or unusual activity. The units can perform a variety of near non-stop surveillance operations that range from around-the-clock border patrolling to looking over a wall for potential danger during hostage negotiations or SWAT operations. They are capable of automatically landing and refueling from ground stations in or near the area. Robots were used at Ground Zero in New York City in two basic applications. Small, tethered robots (about the size of a shoebox) were used on the rubble pile for the first 2 weeks to locate voids where survivors might be found. The second 2 weeks, they focused more on structural inspection. Soon, much smaller robots may be used in standard police work. Researchers are already developing robotic devices that can crawl under closed doors to detect biological chemicals; and there is potential for them to detect illegal drugs. Various robots currently on the market are described. 2 illustrations