QinetiQ is extending its family of robots with the unveiling of the Talon IV Engineer robot, to continue to meet the ever-changing demands of detecting and clearing mines, unexploded ordnance and dangerous improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from a safe distance.
The new Talon IV Engineer robot is particularly well suited to operations in Afghanistan with its longer, stronger reach, stronger grasp, and the ability to right itself, the company said yesterday.
“Our Talon IV Engineer robot, with its extra strength and reach expands the capabilities of troops to remotely clear routes, minefields or other hazardous areas,” William Ribich, president of QinetiQ’s US Technology Solutions Group, said Feb. 9. “And, as with other Talon models, it gives them the ability to see inside and around vehicles and other barriers, helping increase their overall safety.” Other versions of the Talon robot, some 2,500, are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Detection and clearance of mines is important in Afghanistan, where large numbers of landmines litter the countryside as a result of almost continuous fighting since the late 1970s injuring 200,000 people according to United Nations estimates, the company said.
“Talon robots are extensively used by U.S. forces and have already helped save thousands of explosive ordnance disposal and combat engineers from injury or possible death in the performance of their mission to clear mines and disarm IEDs,” Ribich said. “This new model delivers greater flexibility and means they can safely detect and deal with a greater variety of threats from a distance.” The United States is the largest and most public user of the Talon family of robots, a company spokesman told Defense Daily. While not able to reveal other military evaluators or users, he said, “we have previously issued information on the Dutch acquiring units and the deployment of Talon as part of the U.K. civil use for a managed service (GHOST) to London Fire Brigade / NETWORK Rail.”
Key features of the Talon IV Engineer robot include a full-swivel manipulator arm combined with a seven-foot reach. This means a portable mine detector can be taken out of a soldier’s hands and mounted on the robot, so the search can be conducted remotely. Because the arm is longer, stronger and able to swivel, the robot can now also be used to remotely search inside bins, in higher vehicle cabs and flatbeds plus behind guardrails or other obstacles. The arm can lift 65 pounds, which means soldiers can clear heavy debris off IEDs remotely.
Since its initial deployment in 2000, the Talon family of robots has expanded to include small, medium and large robots devoted to specific tasks, such as IED disposal, reconnaissance, hazardous materials detection, combat engineering support and Special Weapons And Tactics unit assistance.
Ribich said the company provides complete mission support, with a global repair and maintenance capability.
New robots introduced in the last year include MAARS(TM) and Dragon Runner(TM) small unmanned ground vehicle that address the military’s need for standoff protection, over and above the successful use of Talon for counter-IED missions.