SubscribeOne of the strongest drivers of technical innovation has always been the improvement of human living conditions. New technologies are frequently aimed at reducing or facilitating work and labour as one of the basic essential of human existence, or at least alleviating or completely removing the dangers involved in such work. In recent decades, increasing significance has been attributed to this last motive in particular.
When a danger becomes too great, the natural human response is to get away from the danger. if this is not possible, for whatever reason, the next alternative is to attempt to solve the problem from a safe distance. The principle of distance as the primary safety rule applies just as much to the disposal of mines and old munitions as it does to fire-fighting, maintenance, servicing and reassembly of nuclear power systems or the disposal of terrorist explosive devices. Even "traditional" warfare is coming to rely increasingly on unmanned and remotely-controlled systems.
As so often in the past, there are companies who have spotted this trend, and have addressed the consequences at an early stage. One of these is telerob GmbH, one of the few specialists in remote handling technology and Europe's leading supplier in the field of remotely-controlled systems. In this company with a staff of only 50, but with enormous powers of innovation, engineers, developers and interdisciplinary specialists have for over 20 years been working on remotely-controlled systems for the purposes of fire-fighting, the handling of highly radioactive materials and the identification and disposal of improvised explosives and incendiary devices. Some of the latest developments of this young team are described below:
FIREROB - a remotely-controlled fire-fighting vehicle
Fires in particularly sensitive areas such as industrial plants or tunnels are sometimes not actively fought. Fire services sometimes restrict themselves to preventing the spread of the fire. The reasons are simple: danger to life and limb of the fire-fighting crews. This challenge was accepted many years ago by telerob, which has now developed a convincing concept in response to this problem - the FIREROB. Controlled from a safe distance, and protected by its heat-resistant jacket that can withstand temperatures of up to 1400 °C, FIREROB can either transport hose reels to the seat of the fire, reconnoitre the situation or start attacking the fire directly with spray equipment.
Electric master-slave manipulators
For obvious reasons, the core of a nuclear power plant is not accessible to humans. work of any type therefore has to be carried out by remote control. The more closely the machinery used can duplicate human capabilities, the shorter are the work times and the lower the costs for the operator. telerob's electrical master-slave manipulators meet these specifications to the highest level possible. Equipped with a highly sensitive force-reporting system, these devices can be used to perform even the most difficult work under extreme environmental conditions easily, reliably, cost-effectively and from a safe distance.
EOD robots
One of the oldest applications of remotely-controlled systems has attracted specially great attention over recent years: the disposal of terrorist explosive devices. Attacks in Russia, Bali, Morocco or Saudi Arabia all confirm: the number of people prepared to commit violence on any level is increasing rapidly. This also increases the risk for disposal personnel. The only solution is to combat the problem from a safe distance.
As early as the 1960's, successful attempts were made in England to dispose of explosive devices with the aid of small, remotely-controlled robots. The first, and very successful generation of these systems was christened "Wheelbarrow", and by the 1980's its use had spread from England all over the world. In the meantime, a large number of other manufacturers have specialised in the development and production of similar systems. One of the most successful of these over recent years has been the firm of telerob GmbH.
At the end of the 1990's, this small Swabian company took a close look at the existing EOD robots available, and was quick to see that not very much had changed since the early days of the technology. telerob GmbH decided to fill this gap. In the firm conviction that a German company could also succeed in penetrating the ranks of British and American manufacturers, the company decided to undertake the development of a completely new generation of vehicles. Today, only 5 years later, more than 170 such vehicles under the name of tEODor (telerob Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Observation robot) equip armies and police services throughout the world.
How did this come about: the tEODor was not just simply a copy of any existing robot, but included some groundbreaking innovations that are in some cases still unique today. One of these is the tool magazine: tEODor is still the only EOD robot that can carry with it three different tools. If the disposal team establish when on site that a different disposal tool is more suitable for solving the problem, the vehicle previously had to be returned to the starting point in order to be fitted with a new tool. Not so the tEODor. At the press of a button, this intelligent vehicle simply picks additional tools from its on-board 3-way magazine.
A further highlight is represented by the integral diagnosis system. This offers the service personnel of the team the capability of correcting faults themselves by means of a laptop. At a further equipment level, specialists of telerob GmbH can even correct faults by means of remote diagnosis over the Internet once the customer has logged on to the vehicle. A linear axis for easy positioning of the manipulator arm for examining the undersides of vehicles, programmable standard movement procedures, simultaneous movement in two axes and many other facilities represent features that all make life much easier for the disposal team. These were all features that were first implemented in the tEODor vehicle.
In the meantime, the telerob engineers have been working on a new highlight, the teleMAX. this vehicle is intended for use in restricted areas, such as in aircraft, buses or trains. Despite its compact dimensions, the teleMAX is a fully capable EOD robot. In some respects, it even surpasses the capabilities of its predecessor tEODor: teleMAX is the only such robot in the world to be equipped with a tool centre point controlled manipulator. It can move simultaneously in all axes, thereby describing any spatial curves required. This considerably simplifies the approach to a suspicious object, leaving the disposal team more time for the actual task in hand.
EOD robots are however only one tool used by EOD specialists - even if a very important one. There is a large number of further systems that also need to be transported to the site of use. In the same way as fire service equipment vehicles, special utility vehicles are required for this purpose. telerob has also established itself in this field as a manufacturer of specially high-quality systems.
In addition to vehicles manufactured completely to customers' specifications, telerob also offers a modular system: this begins with the S-class, fast all-terrain vehicles for reconnaissance and the institution of initial measures at the incident site. The M and L-classes include box-type vehicles or box-bodies equipped for complete IED tasks. telerob naturally offers different wheelbases, all-wheel drive or double cabs, depending on the particular application in question. The highlights of the range are however without a doubt the vehicles of the XL-class. Here the EOD specialist will find everything his heart could desire.
The equipment fit begins with large and small EOD robots, includes a complete data and video documentation centre and is rounded off by explosives analysis devices. telerob can also supply vehicles with splinter protection or air transportable containers. There are no limits either on the customer's equipment specifications, nor of course on the budget. Designed down to the last detail, these special vehicles are delivered to the well known quality standard "Made in Germany". In concrete terms, this means product quality to DIN EN ISO 9001 and AQAP 2130.
And now, the brief outlook for the future. Following the collapse of the Warsaw Pact as a potential opponent of NATO, many people eagerly expected the "outbreak of peace". This has proven to be a forlorn hope. Innumerable small sources of conflict have created an increasing potential for violent terrorism. Recent events prove that there are almost no limits to the shameful acts they are prepared to perpetrate. The objective of the development of EOD robots will remain the combating of this potential by technological means, in order to at least protect those whose task it is to protect others.
