For years the military and law enforcement have utilized Unmanned Ground Vehicles UGV to carry out missions. One such mission is Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) carried out by the United States Army. Following the model of the famous home robot the Roomba, the U.S. Army implemented a robot called the PackBot 510. The PackBot comes from a family of robots that are designed to cover a broad spectrum of operations, from cave crawling to urban reconnaissance and everything in between (Springer, 2013).
The PackBot 510 is a ground-based system specifically designed to operate in areas that present high levels of risk for human operators (Buchanan, 2013). iRobot’s advertising indicates that the PackBot can be used to reconnoiter caves that are potentially occupied by an enemy force; clear routes and roads that may be a target for EODs or other hazards; operate in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) environments that may be lethal to humans; and examine and manipulate explosive ordnance devices.
One of the drawbacks of this system is communication. A study conducted at the University of Michigan identified general failures in Unmanned Ground Vehicles. The results of the study indicated that dropped signals in wireless controlled robots were the most frequently encountered problems. The study goes on to suggest that the environmental structures may impact the range of communications. Furthermore, high-temperature environments and low oxygen environments exacerbate the difficulties in maintaining the internal subsystems. This analysis led to the recommendation that UGVs must have a way to communicate with the operator about system failures. They also advance the proposition that the UGV could interact with other UGVs to replace it to complete the mission, (Huu, Nguyuen, & Titus, 2009).
Today in the non-military world we deal with rescue situations, hostage situations, criminal surveillance and school shootings that could benefit from this type of robot. However, the communication issue must be improved, and the robots would be able to carry out more missions if they could operate autonomously. The purpose of this autonomous robot is to be able to travel into dangerous situations or hazardous areas, un-accessible by human beings. Examples include enemy territories, homes or buildings that occupy dangerous criminals, caves, and collapsed buildings to detect if there are victims inside (Chang, 2008). Equipping UGV with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology would enable the UGA to identify objects that it may encounter during the mission (Raimundo, 2016).
Finally, for a school security application, a robot like the PackBot could be vital if equipped with facial recognition technology. The UGV would be equipped with a camera, or multiple cameras to be able to capture images. Then an algorithm would need to be developed to capture an image, detect a face, look for identifying facial features, and then be able to compare the image to stored images, to see if that person belongs onsite or not. Prices for the PackBot range between $100,000 - $200,000. An investment that would pay for itself in short order due to the potential of multiple lives being saved (Cnet, 2013).
I think this type of application whether for law infarcement or school security would be vital in reducing crime and saving lives.
References
Buchanan, M. (2013). Object of interest: the packbot. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/object-of-interest-the-packbot
Cnet, (2013). iRobot military bots to patrol 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Retrieved from https://www.cnet.com/news/irobot-military-bots-to-patrol-2014-world-cup-in-brazil/
Glass, S., Arnold, J., Spahlinger, J., & Coulman, K. (2017). Facial recognition with the double robot creating a personalized robot. International Journal of Advanced Studies in Computers, Science and Engineering, 6(4), 32.
Huu, N., Nguyen, P., & Titus, J. (2009). Reliability and Failure in Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV). Retrieved from university of michigan, ground robotics research center: http://arc.engin.umich.edu/grrc/techreports/200901_ReliabilityUGV.pdf
Raimundo, A. (2016). Autonomous obstacle collision avoidance system for uavs in rescue operations. Instituto universitario de lisboa. Retrieved from https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt/bitstream/10071/13045/1/TESE-CorpoTrabalho.pdf
Springer, P. J. (2014). Military robots and drones: a reference handbook. pp 188. par 2. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
The PackBot 510 is a ground-based system specifically designed to operate in areas that present high levels of risk for human operators (Buchanan, 2013). iRobot’s advertising indicates that the PackBot can be used to reconnoiter caves that are potentially occupied by an enemy force; clear routes and roads that may be a target for EODs or other hazards; operate in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) environments that may be lethal to humans; and examine and manipulate explosive ordnance devices.
One of the drawbacks of this system is communication. A study conducted at the University of Michigan identified general failures in Unmanned Ground Vehicles. The results of the study indicated that dropped signals in wireless controlled robots were the most frequently encountered problems. The study goes on to suggest that the environmental structures may impact the range of communications. Furthermore, high-temperature environments and low oxygen environments exacerbate the difficulties in maintaining the internal subsystems. This analysis led to the recommendation that UGVs must have a way to communicate with the operator about system failures. They also advance the proposition that the UGV could interact with other UGVs to replace it to complete the mission, (Huu, Nguyuen, & Titus, 2009).
Today in the non-military world we deal with rescue situations, hostage situations, criminal surveillance and school shootings that could benefit from this type of robot. However, the communication issue must be improved, and the robots would be able to carry out more missions if they could operate autonomously. The purpose of this autonomous robot is to be able to travel into dangerous situations or hazardous areas, un-accessible by human beings. Examples include enemy territories, homes or buildings that occupy dangerous criminals, caves, and collapsed buildings to detect if there are victims inside (Chang, 2008). Equipping UGV with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology would enable the UGA to identify objects that it may encounter during the mission (Raimundo, 2016).
Finally, for a school security application, a robot like the PackBot could be vital if equipped with facial recognition technology. The UGV would be equipped with a camera, or multiple cameras to be able to capture images. Then an algorithm would need to be developed to capture an image, detect a face, look for identifying facial features, and then be able to compare the image to stored images, to see if that person belongs onsite or not. Prices for the PackBot range between $100,000 - $200,000. An investment that would pay for itself in short order due to the potential of multiple lives being saved (Cnet, 2013).
I think this type of application whether for law infarcement or school security would be vital in reducing crime and saving lives.
References
Buchanan, M. (2013). Object of interest: the packbot. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/object-of-interest-the-packbot
Cnet, (2013). iRobot military bots to patrol 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Retrieved from https://www.cnet.com/news/irobot-military-bots-to-patrol-2014-world-cup-in-brazil/
Glass, S., Arnold, J., Spahlinger, J., & Coulman, K. (2017). Facial recognition with the double robot creating a personalized robot. International Journal of Advanced Studies in Computers, Science and Engineering, 6(4), 32.
Huu, N., Nguyen, P., & Titus, J. (2009). Reliability and Failure in Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV). Retrieved from university of michigan, ground robotics research center: http://arc.engin.umich.edu/grrc/techreports/200901_ReliabilityUGV.pdf
Raimundo, A. (2016). Autonomous obstacle collision avoidance system for uavs in rescue operations. Instituto universitario de lisboa. Retrieved from https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt/bitstream/10071/13045/1/TESE-CorpoTrabalho.pdf
Springer, P. J. (2014). Military robots and drones: a reference handbook. pp 188. par 2. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
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