A new robotic arm would give U.S. troops in Afghanistan the ability to feel the improvised explosive devices they are remotely trying to disarm, potentially allowing for greater precision than ever before.
The arm, called the RedHawk, gives its operator the sense of touch by using “haptic technology.” The perceptions of force, vibrations, and motion allow the operator to feel like they are touching the object.
“RedHawk’s haptic control technology reduces operator workload, preserves forensic evidence, and provides such realistic, intuitive feedback that operators can pick out an individual wire in an IED,” said Bill Gattle of Harris Government Communications Systems.
The system’s precision will aid the operator in dismantling an IED’s triggering mechanism without destroying it, allowing the military to lift fingerprints or other clues to who made the bomb, according to the company.
A total of four sensors are built into the robots two fingers. If the sensors come in contact with an object like an IED, the sensors communicate that back to a grip like handle that the operator is using. The handle is equipped with motors to replicate the sensations.
“Anytime the robot would contact something you as the operator would feel like you have contacted it,” said Paul Bosscher, a scientist at Harris Corp. who worked on the development of the arm. “You can be more precise with the robot than you are with (your) hand because you can adjust how sensitive the robot is,” said Bosscher.
Harris Corporation revealed the robot during the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s conference in Las Vegas recently.
