A robot that sniffs bombs!

KOCHI: Don’t be surprised if you come across a robot searching for explosives anywhere in the city. Inspired by the scientific findings of their colleagues from NSG, two officials of the City Police Anti Sabotage Squad have invented a remote operated machine for the search and detection of explosives— IED Handling Robot. The robot invented by Jose M V and Anoop K Ravindran has already got wide appreciation. DGP Jacob Punnoose has asked them to carry out some more alterations to the robot. The machine which is attached to a platform on four wheels has a control unit with battery under the panel. The search and detection of explosives would be carried out by a handle called gripper to which the explosive detecting device would be attached. A camera on the frontal portion would help capture any signal from the detected device and transfer to the mother unit which would be a laptop. The device will sound an alarm with audio visual signals immediately after detecting an explosive. “The concept came from a remote operated wire cutter we had invented earlier. On seeing it, the then City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham asked us to think about something on a moving platform. It took eight months for us to come up with the final output. IG R Sreelekha, Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar and AR Camp Commandant K I Bhaskaran gave us all support,” said M V Jose and Anoop Ravindran.Built at a cost of around Rs 1 lakh, the robot can handle a wide range of explosives depending on which detecting device is attached to it. It can handle 30-50 kg of explosives and can be operated with a remote within an area of 50 metres. “The alterations to the device will cost roughly Rs 6 lakh. It’s in addition to the cost of the detection device,” said Commandant K I Bhaskaran of the AR Camp. Jose and Anoop are planning to add more flexibility and length to the gripper arm.