Faster and lighter bomb-disposal robot set for trials

At around 72cm in length and 35cm wide, the robot should weigh in at less than 50kg and achieve speeds of up to eight miles per hour, its makers say.

‘Particularly if the unit is disassembled — we can take the turret and batteries off it — it is much more portable than the competing units. That means we can get it into the theatre faster, and also that we can get it to places you can’t easily get a large vehicle to,’ said Dr Steve Woodhead of Greenwich University, who is working on the project alongside industrial partner NIC Instruments.

The robot has cameras on board, which relay images back to the operator via a hand-held control, and employs a versatile gripper that can carry and manipulate delicate items. It also includes nuclear, biological and chemical weapons sensors.

Key customers for the finished product are expected to include the defence and security forces of several EU countries.